Alive at Sunset (Rituals of the Night Series Book 2) (24 page)

C
hance couldn’t do it. He had had Luna in his clutches, his blade to her throat. All he had to do was one swipe. One single swipe, and she would’ve been taken care of forever. Yet, he couldn’t deal the final blow -something in him wouldn’t let him. The wound he had inflicted on her arm had been enough to claw at his heart and made him feel almost…regretful. She didn’t understand the way he felt for her, and when he thought back to their past, he didn’t blame her.

When he finally managed to open his eyes, she was gone. He didn’t know where she went, but he was glad. He didn’t want to see the wound bleed, didn’t want to admit he actually hurt her again. He hated that she was slipping through his fingers once more making his job unnecessarily difficult at all possible turns. He knew that the longer she was around him, the bigger chance of getting hurt she had.

His mind was dramatically unstable. He quickly learned that when he killed his parents. He was well on his way into That mind yet again. Sarah was proof of that. He only followed Luna to the cabin to pester her, not to kill anyone. Sarah had provoked him, had rattled him bad enough to snap. Chance glanced at the floor where she had landed on the old dusty floor. She was still there in the exact place she landed and judging by the gurgling sounds of frantic breath, she was still alive.

Sarah was clutching at the deep gash across her chest as the crimson stained her palm like finger paint, slipping down to the floor to create a puddle beneath her. She was writhing in pain with tears streaking both sides of her face. Although she was in agony, she was aware of the fact that Luna had left her all alone.

It was then that she noticed that Chance was looking at her. Without Luna to distract him, she was the only thing he had to focus on. With a pained look on her face, she climbed to her feet, her hand still clutched the wound. She refused to let him see her in pain no matter what she felt.

Chance smiled at her, he enjoyed watching the anguish he caused come to life. Even though he regretted hurting Luna, he didn’t feel that way about anyone else. As he slipped further into That mind, thoughts of Luna left as he watched the girl before him. Sarah switched the hand that she held over the cut as she picked up her backpack and swung it at him as if she hoped that would be enough to knock the knife from his hand. He had to admit he was surprised that she still had so much strength left in her.

“That backpack won’t stop me, Sarah,” he said, smiling sweetly. “You should know that. I got to your sister even when you were in the house. I’m unstoppable when I have a goal in mind.”

“You’re not unstoppable. I doubt you’re human, you’re just a monster!” she screeched.

He wasn’t offended by her words. That was becoming his official anthem. “You don’t have to worry about it for much longer. I’ll kill you like I did Susan and Max. Like I’ve told Luna, it’s the way people kill pigs.”

“How dare you call my sister a pig?” Sarah screeched, letting out a gasp of air in pain as her anger made her fresh ragged wound burn.

He shrugged as a smile crossed his face. “I can do whatever I want.”

“I hope the police find you,” Sarah said, her eyes glittering with grief. “I hope they take you to jail where you’ll rot for life. My only regret is that I’m not gonna be there when they put that needle in your arm.”

“Well, I’ve got some good news. You won’t be missing anything. The police will never catch me,” he said. “I should have done this a long time ago. Look at the bright side; you’ll get to be with your sister again. Speaking of Susan, by killing you I’ll be making good on my old promise to her.”

“I hate you and your cocky attitude. Never make assumptions because guess what? I’ll
never
let you kill me,” Sarah growled with her face contorted in bitter fury.

“You don’t have a choice,” Chance said. It was dragging out -it had to end if he was going to track Luna to see where she had gone.

Chance easily knocked the backpack out of her hand with a solid flick of his. It landed heavily next to the door. Instantly, she lashed out at him, trying to hit him square in the face since he took away her shield. When she tried to hit him, she missed, and Chance easily grabbed her wrists and stopped her mid-movement. She looked at him through panicked eyes. The struggle was almost ridiculous; it should’ve ended ten minutes ago. He took his dagger and plunged it straight through her heart with a sickening pop.

She gasped in pain and blood flooded from her mouth, running down her chin in a river at the same time it emerged from the wound in her chest. Two streams of blood stained her light colored shirt. Chance narrowed his eyes and watched her carefully. When he felt her body go limp in his grasp, he let go of her wrists. Without him holding her up, she fell to the floor immediately. Her pained eyes stared up at him as she struggled to breathe, struggled to live against the blood that threatened to consume her. She knew she was dying, but she was stubborn. She wanted to fight until her last breath.

“Why did you do this to Susan and all those people?” she finally managed to rasp. “Why me?”

Chance gave her a sardonic mocking smile. Every girl seemed to think they were the most special thing in the world. Looking down at the bloody, dying girl laid out on the floor he knew he should’ve felt something in that moment. All he felt was pride; he ridded the world of another potential heartache -another girl that was fake.

He bent down to pull the snake-handle knife from the depths of her chest. More blood welled up from the wound to acknowledge the absence of the knife. The new flood of crimson liquid began to stain the tips of her fake blonde hair turning it a muddy red color. He hardly noticed, the knife was all that mattered. He wiped the blade clean on her clothes and stood up.

He stared down at her as her sad eyes stared back helplessly. “Because you were a useless, hollow girl too,” he replied finally.

After he finished speaking, Sarah took her last breath. Her small body shuddered with the effect then grew still forever. He looked at her feeling a whirlwind spin of emotions, the most primary -relief. Although he’d have to spend the rest of his day disposing of her body, he had accomplished another thing on his list.

He had killed almost everyone that had been responsible for his personal hell. The only one left was Luna, yet he didn’t know how to get his revenge against her. He couldn’t hurt her, he didn’t want to. But he knew one thing for sure; she needed to learn her lesson for conquering him.

Her time would come eventually.

                                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Luna got out of the forest, the rain had finally stopped. The trees dripped with the light liquid, and her boots squished in the grass. The rain hadn’t been her biggest worry. Her arm was in searing pain and although it wasn’t a real deep wound, it was long; long enough to make her lose a decent amount of blood. Blood was clotting on the cut, and half her arm had been stained crimson by what had spilled out.

When she finally ran out of enough endurance to run, she stopped to catch her breath. Her frantic breathing left her rib in agony as it throbbed from the fracture. It was then that she was struck with the thought that she had abandoned Sarah when she was injured. When she had left the cabin, Sarah was the last thing on her mind as she escaped Chance’s dagger. No matter what had been on her mind, Luna had abandoned her with a monster.

Sarah would be able to fend for herself (at least Luna hoped so), but Chance was unpredictable. For a minute, she considered going back to the cabin to keep Sarah alive. Everyone else had died, but maybe if she went back then she could change things. Finally, she decided against it. If she went back, Chance would kill her for sure. The pain in her arm would be nothing compared to having her throat slit. In order to protect her unborn baby, she needed to be as far from Chance as humanely possible.

She was sure that Sarah would be alright on her own, and if not…well, Sarah had been about to leave town anyways. In Luna’s books that meant she had given up all hopes of surviving. If Sarah died then Chance had claimed the lives of both Cross sisters. Luna wouldn’t be surprised.

There was nothing she could do to change things, nothing she could do to turn back time and make the situation better. She learned that from the first incident. Like Max had said, she couldn’t worry about anyone but herself. In order to avoid Chance, she had to stay one step out of her old enemy’s reach. Hopefully, her baby would give her all the strength that she needed.

Luna didn’t know what was happening to her life anymore- only that she was in a bad situation. ‘Bad’ didn’t even begin to describe all the problems with it. Death was lurking in the town in a form much too human for her comfort. In her messed up world, Death was the father of her baby.

She knew that her emotions were real enough, that was the one thing that she
could
count on. She was scared -hell, terrified- of what to do next…and for good reason. Grief was real but not as menacing as knowing that she was the next one to be hunted down and murdered in cold blood. She didn’t know how to fix the situation, to change anything as her life spiraled out of control once again. She was a helpless bystander to the little pieces that Chance left of her life.

Chance was the reason she was in the middle of hell, he was always the reason her life went wrong. It was like a quote she had read of Winston Churchill years ago, “If you’re in the middle of Hell, go through it.”

B
y the time Luna finally got back to the apartment, the sun had risen almost to its highest point in the sky. She opened the door and slipped inside. She hurried to her room and dropped her backpack to the floor hoping Amanda hadn’t noticed her come in. If she saw the mark on her arm, it would lead to a lot of ruffled suspicion. She crept quietly to the bathroom, and shut the door, locking it tight. The wound on her arm had crusted with dried blood, but at least it had stopped bleeding.

Luna picked up a towel and wet the edge from the sink faucet. She scrubbed at her arm until only a small red line was visible. She stared at it mystified. All she could think was that the wound could’ve been on her throat –it almost had been if he hadn’t hesitated. But Chance
had
changed his mind for some reason. For a heart stopping minute, Luna wondered if he knew about the baby.

She hadn’t told anyone –how in the world would he know? Amanda was the only one that knew, but Luna felt that her roommate wouldn’t tell Chance about her pregnancy. She had no real reason to…unless Chance had pushed her into it. Luna had to hope that Amanda would know when to keep something private. Chance
did
work at the hospital. He had access to medical records, would he look hers up?

She had to count her blessings that at least she was safe. It was only temporary, she knew, but for the moment she could relax that she had survived another day. Not everyone was so fortunate. She would spend it by thinking about the next move she should take in the giant chess game that her life had become.

In the back of her mind, Luna wondered when Chance would come back. Would he be covered in Sarah’s blood when he did?

I need to leave,
she thought. She knew the danger she would be in if she allowed him to corner her in that mind frame again.

Luna hurried to hide her backpack underneath her bed before she ran to the kitchen and searched for Amanda’s keys. She picked them up in a flash and ran out to the car. Part of her felt guilty for using her friend after the argument they had had, but at the same time Amanda owed it to her for everything she had been put through. She swallowed back the bile that was rising in her throat as she turned the key in the ignition.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, she noticed Chance’s black truck pull in. She let out a sigh of relief that she had gotten away in time. She sped ten miles over the speed limit as she drove towards Lima. She glimpsed into her rearview mirror, paranoid that she would see the giant truck behind her.

To her relief, she was alone on the road.

She tried to force herself to relax as she drove though her hands shook as she clutched the steering wheel. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried to concentrate. She was positive that Sarah was dead –it was unavoidable. She had done exactly as she feared and led Chance right to her. Her eyes were burning as she pulled onto the highway; it was another person to add her ever-growing body count.

The entire drive to Lima made her feel sick.

As she pulled up in front of Rose’s house, she took a deep breath to calm her tattered nerves. She picked up her phone from the driver’s seat and stared at it for a long moment. She knew that Chance had had about an hour alone with Amanda. She swallowed back her feelings before she dialed her roommate’s number.

The line rung twice before she answered, “Hello?”

“Is everything okay, Amanda?” she asked.

“Of course. Me and Chance are looking for you…where are you?”

“Out of town. I’ll be back later,” she said and hung up.

Luna let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least one situation was okay for the moment. She tossed the phone back into the passenger seat and ran up to the front door. She held her hand up to knock before she decided to go right inside. Clanking of dishes from the kitchen drew her attention, and she took a few cautious steps forward to greet her mother.

“Hey, Mom,” she said. “Can we talk?”

Rose turned to look at her, surprised. “Of course, Dear,” she said as she wiped her hands on the nearest rag. “What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” Luna said.

Rose sighed. “It’s still hard, Luna. It feels like time is going by extremely slowly, but I’m sure you feel the same way. What’s really on your mind?”

Luna nodded. “A lot has happened these past few weeks, and to sum it all up, I wanted to see if I could move back home.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “What happened to Amanda?” she asked.

“Nothing, Mom. We’re just not getting along as well as we used to. It’s hard for me to be around her right now. I figure you could use me around here more than she could,” Luna said.

Rose frowned at her. “What about college? Are you going to make an hour drive there and back every day in the fall?”

Luna looked down at her fingers as she picked at a loose piece of skin. “I’m not going back in the fall.”

“What? You love school!”

“I-it’s…” Luna looked at her for a moment before looking down again. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but they were too impossible to say.

Rose set her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Talk to me.”

Luna breathed in deep through her nose as she met her gaze. “I’m pregnant, Mom.”

Rose was silent as she stared back at her. “W-what?”

“I’m not going to school in the fall because I’m pregnant,” she said.

Rose stood to her feet instantly and pulled her daughter into her arms. “Congratulations, dear, I wish your father had been here for this.”

Luna pulled back to look at her. “Wait…you’re not disappointed in me?”

“Honestly, Luna, there was a time that I might have been, but after your father passed I’ve done some reevaluating of my life. I’m starting to realize that family should come before anything. I just wish I could’ve learned that sooner.”

“Does that mean I can move back here?” Luna asked.

Rose smiled at her. “Of course it does. You can move back into your old room if you want. I’ll have to clean it up a bit.”

“That’s a relief. I still need to get everything packed up at the apartment, but I should be ready by the end of the week.”

“I’m so glad you’ll be home again, Luna,” she said. “I’ve missed spending time with you.”

Luna nodded in agreement though it felt empty. The only thing she missed was a peace of mind. It had been too long since she had had a restless night’s sleep.

“I’m gonna get back to dinner,” she said. “Are you staying for a little bit?”

“No, I really wanna get everything ready, Mom,” Luna said.

Rose nodded as she turned back to her food, and Luna rushed outside to Amanda’s car. Her future looked safe. It wasn’t ideal, but she couldn’t think of only herself anymore. She checked her phone to see three missed calls from Amanda.
Good to know she’s still okay,
Luna thought as she tossed it into the passenger seat beside her.

For once, her mind was empty of thoughts as she drove back to the apartment. She stopped at a few places along the way to gather all the boxes she could manage. Amanda was ready to ambush her when she walked through the door.

“Where have you been?” she asked, pulling Luna into her arms. “I was so worried!”

Luna scrunched up her face as she looked at her. “Why? Has something happened?”

“Chance said there was a fire on the edge of town. You were gone this morning. He thought something bad had happened to you!” she said.

A twisted smile formed on her face.
What was Chance’s side of the story?
Had he set the fire to destroy what was left of Sarah? Luna didn’t say a word as she pushed her way free from Amanda.

“Why do you have boxes?” she asked as she glanced down at her hands.

Luna dropped her smile. “I told you I was going to move.”

“I didn’t think you were serious!” she said, trying to pull them from her hands.

“Stop it, Mandy. I’ve had enough, okay? My mom said I could move in with her. I’ll be out by the end of the week.”

“You’re serious,” she said, her expression blank.

Luna nodded and headed down the hallway to her room. She closed the door behind her, dragging a chair over to it to hold it closed. The last thing she needed was an interaction with Chance. She sighed as she sat in the middle of the floor, cross-legged as she assembled the boxes. With a look around her room, she felt the weight settle on her shoulders. It was going to be a lot of work, but it would be worth it in the end.

Her phone rang suddenly, and Luna glanced at it to see her work calling. “Hello?”

“Hey, Luna, you haven’t been in for a while and neither has Miss Cross. Did you two decide to quit?”

Luna swallowed heavily at the thought of Sarah. With everything going on, she had completely forgotten about her job. It seemed unimportant.

“Yeah, we did,” she said and hung up the phone.

Luna tossed it onto her bed before she went to work pulling books and notebooks off of her shelves as she filled the first box. She almost anticipated the sound of the rattling door before it even occurred. The chair moved less than an inch before it jammed.

“What are you up to, Luna?” Chance demanded, banging on the door.

She ignored him as she worked on sealing the box and pushing it aside.

“Whatever you did upset Amanda. Tell me what’s going on!”

“Ask her yourself,” Luna replied as she started to toss clothes into the second box. At the sound of his voice she could almost feel the scar on her arm beginning to burn. She shivered at the thought.

“I did. She won’t answer me.”

“Neither will I,” Luna said.

She could hear him huff in agitation before he stomped away down the hallway. Luna smiled to herself as she continued to pack.

Just one step at a time.