Electric (2 page)

“You look like crap,” Chloe said as she wrapped her arm around mine. “Didn’t you sleep again?”

I shook my head. “Nightmares.”

“Maybe you should talk to someone about them.”

“Oh yeah, I can see talking to Mr. Greer the guidance counselor. Oh by the way I’m not sleeping because I’m dreaming about Merlin the magician and some demons I killed a few months back.”

She laughed. “You never know he might give you some great drugs to help with that.”

“The last thing Salem needs is drugs.”

We both turned and looked at Jamie. A serious and intense look pinched his narrow face. He shrugged his bony shoulders. “Well it’s true.”

“Dude, I was totally kidding.” Chloe shook her head. “When did you get so serious?”

He didn’t answer, and he didn’t look at her or me either. He hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder and started up the stairs.

“He’s never going to forgive me.”

Chloe rubbed my back. “Give him more time, Sale. He’ll come around. The three of us will be friends forever. Nothing’s going to change that, not even your, ah, condition.”

I turned slightly and threw my arms around her. I hugged her close. Chloe had been completely unflinching when I returned home. Even after I told her that I was now a cambion, a half succubus, half human monster who wanted nothing more than to suck the life force out of people.  She just told me no one was perfect and hugged me tight. I loved her for that.

“Maybe his new ‘friend’ will help him relax.” She air quoted friend.

“Does he have a new girlfriend?”

“I think so. He won’t tell me who though. Keeps telling me to mind my own vagina.”

I laughed. That totally sounded like a Jamie come back. It warmed me a little to know that he hadn’t changed that much in my absence.

Arm in arm, we went up the stairs. Everyone else pretty much gave us a wide birth. Although I’d been exonerated from any wrongdoing with putting Josh into a coma, the students at Boise High were still afraid of me. It bothered me a little. I didn’t want to be some monster that was whispered about in the dark.  I didn’t want to become a Bloody Mary legend where stupid drunk teens whispered my name into a mirror scared shitless that I was going to pop out of it and slice their throats open.

When we reached the doors, the plastic posse, including their silicone injected leader, Heather, gasped with their tiny little cupid bow mouths and jumped out of the way and let us go on in first. Okay, maybe being a frightening monster had some perks even if it was just scaring the living shit out of the local bitches.

Chloe opened the door and I was about to go in, when an icy tendril zigzagged down my back.  I stopped and turned to look around.  Was there a storm coming? I could feel electricity in the air.  But when I looked up there wasn’t a dark cloud in the sky.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked. “You’re paler than normal.”

I shook off the trepidation and nodded. “I’m fine. Let’s go get educated.”

But as I went through the door I wasn’t fine. A sense of ominous dread filled my gut and it churned and roiled and I thought I was going to get sick. Something was wrong. Like when black storm clouds roll in and sink the world into darkness, this was the feeling that settled over me.

After school I needed to put in my hours at my job at the book store.  Obviously, I’d lost my job at the coffee house since I disappeared for a couple of weeks without notice when I went to Seattle with Trevor and planned to kill the members of Malice.  The owner did give me a nice reference though, but only after I practically glamoured him with my cambion powers.  Which I wasn’t necessarily proud of.

I liked working at the book store. It was quieter and not nearly as busy. It gave me time to be still. Since turning I needed those tranquil moments more. To tame the wildness swirling inside. It was getting easier over time, but I definitely did struggle.

For the most of my shift I picked up the books and magazines lying around that people took out, read for a bit then discarded and re-shelved them. Sometimes it was more like a library in here than an actual store.  I was surprised the owner broke even some days.

I did my rounds through the store, then to the little area where there were tables and chairs and cheap coffee and pop. I picked up a variety of books off the tables. A few of the latest bestsellers, including one I kept meaning to read, a couple of books on screenwriting, and one book about the history of sex.  It was an eclectic mix. Often when I was picking them up and shelving them, I would try and match the books to the people I saw sitting at the tables. But I skipped on guessing the one about sex.  I really didn’t want to know who had been browsing those pages.

I stacked the books on my little cart, and then collected the random newspapers to put them back in the free pile. And that’s when I saw the headline from today’s paper. DEAD TEEN GIRL FOUND IN DUMPSTER. And there was a picture of a green BFI bin in a back alley. A bin and alley that looked all too familiar.

The paper dropped from my hand and my stomach lurched. I pulled out a chair and sat down. I couldn’t seem to stand on my legs anymore. They weren’t working properly.  The air around me thickened instantly and I couldn’t get a proper breath.  I leaned over and put my head between my knees like I’d seen in movies when people were hyperventilating. But it didn’t work, I still felt sick and lightheaded.

“Salem? Are you okay, dear?”

I glanced up to see old Mrs. Norman looking down at me. She was the manager of the store.

“I don’t feel so good.”

“You’re as pale as a ghost.”  She put her hand on my forehead. “You’re like ice.” She snatched her hand away, obviously surprised I wasn’t running a fever or something of the like.  “You should go home, dear. I’ll close up the store.”

I got to my feet and dragged my ass to the employee’s room. I slid on my jacket and then left the store.  I stood outside and looked out at the darkness creeping in.  We were usually friends, the darkness and me, but right now I feared what lay in wait inside the shadows.

As I didn’t for one minute believe, that the dumpster that girl had been found in, wasn’t the one Thane had dumped me in leaving me for dead after he thought he’d sucked out my soul.

Was he back from the dead?

I pulled out my phone and texted Trevor to pick me up. He usually did after I was done for the night.  While I waited for him, I texted Chloe.

Are U OK?

Yes. Y wouldn’t I B?

Just checkin

Sale, is sumthin goin on?

I didn’t want to scare her. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was just an unfortunate dead teenage girl. It happened. Even in a small city like Boise. But to be found in a dumpster. That was just too close to home. Too familiar.  Some nights I dreamt about being back in that container covered in disgusting trash not knowing where I was or what had happened to me.

U there?

Can I come over?

YES

B there in 15

When Trevor pulled up, I jumped into the car and hugged him tight.

He pulled back and stroked my face. “What’s going on?”

“They found a dead girl in a dumpster.”

His face changed. “When?”

“I don’t know. I just saw the headline. I didn’t read the whole article. I couldn’t.”  My whole body was shaking. I couldn’t stop it.

Trevor grabbed my hands in his and rubbed them until they were warm and not trembling anymore.  “You’re safe, Sale. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Do you think Thane’s back? Do you think it’s him?”

He shook his head. “Thane is dead, Sale. You killed him. There is no coming back from that. Not even for a cambion.”

“The other members. Seth and Quinn? Could they be back to get revenge or something?”

“I don’t know. But let’s get all the facts first, then we can figure it out.”  He gave me a quick kiss then pulled away from the store.

“I told Chloe we’d come over. I want to make sure she stays safe.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

Chloe was in a panic when we got to her house. The second I knocked on the door, she opened it, pulled me inside and hugged me tight. Her mother hovered nearby, all smiles, and offers of drink and food, until Chloe shooed her away.

“Are you okay? I’m worried.”

“I’m fine, Chloe.”

She smiled at Trevor.  “Are you coming in too?”

“If that’s cool?”

Chloe liked Trevor but I knew there was something about him that made her uncomfortable. It could’ve been that he was a cambion like me, but probably had more to do with the fact that we were together.  I think she feared that I would leave again. Leave her. But I promised when I returned that I wouldn’t do that to her again. No matter what.

I just hoped my no matter what didn’t just turn up in a dumpster downtown.

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T
he three of us crammed into Chloe’s small bedroom. She had three siblings and a small house, and she was the middle child, so she got the tiniest room.  I’d always like it though. It was homey. Like a hug.

Chloe and I sat on the bed together, while Trevor sat in her computer chair. Which I thought was adorable since the chair was covered in fuchsia faux fur. He didn’t seem to mind though. Which I also thought was adorable.  Trevor didn’t care about those girl/boy social norms.  He thought you were either cool or you weren’t, regardless of gender.

She handed me an open box of cookies. “Okay, spill it.”

I took a couple of cookies and handed the box to Trevor. He took one and gave it back to Chloe.  I gave her my phone.  I’d searched for the story on the internet while Trevor drove us here.  “Look.”

She took it and scrolled through it. Then she tapped the screen to enlarge the picture. Her eyes bugged out.  “Is it the same dumpster?”

“It’s at the same intersection.” The article confirmed the address for me.

She set the phone down on the bed, then chewed at her thumbnail. “What does it mean? Are they back?”

“It might not mean anything,” Trevor said, “But we wanted you to know so you can watch yourself.”

Her eyes bugged out again.  “Do you think they’d come after me?”  Her voice shook a little and I reached over and grabbed her hand.

“No one’s coming after you.”

“Are you sure? I mean look what happened to you.”

I knew she didn’t mean to hurt me, but the barb stung regardless of her intention. I pulled my hand away and dropped my gaze.  “I know. But I was stupid, Chloe. I put myself in that position.”

She bit on her lower lip.  “I’m sorry. That was a shit thing to say.” She shuffled closer to me and pulled me into a hug.  “I’m a bitch.  I didn’t mean it.”

“I know.” I hugged her back.

When she pulled back, she butt-shuffled back to her spot. “So what do we do?”

“Are you sure you want to be involved?” Trevor asked.

“I’m already involved. Salem’s my BFF.”

He nodded. “Fair enough.”

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked.

“We need to find out how this girl died. Where she was beforehand. To find out for sure if this is a cambion attack,” Trevor said.

Chloe smirked. “It’s not like the cops are going to tell us anything.  It’s not like you can just go examine the body or anything.”

Except that was exactly what Trevor was thinking.  I looked at him. “You mean to take a shadow-way into the morgue.”

His eyebrow shot up. “You got a better idea?”

I didn’t. I had no idea how to deal with this. I didn’t want to deal with it. But I knew I had to. This was either a tragic murder of some poor girl, or it was a warning to Trevor and me. We needed to find out which it was.

“I’m going with you.”

“No you’re not.”

“Trevor,” I said. “You know I’m just going to follow you or go on my own when you’re not looking, so you might as well take me with you.”

He gave me that look of his. The one that said he was mad at me, but still wanted to kiss me.  I saw that look often enough to recognize it instantly.

“Besides, you haven’t been to the morgue before so you don’t know where you’re going.”

“And you have?”

I took another cookie.  “Yup. Grade 10 science field trip.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Chloe shook her head.  “Thank god I was sick that day because I probably would’ve gotten sick there. Mr. S was whack for taking the class there.”

“Yeah, which is probably why he ain’t teaching anymore.”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Should we phone Jamie and tell him? He’d want to know.”

I nodded. “Yeah, you call him.  I still don’t think he likes talking to me.” I glanced at Trevor, he was watching me. I could see the concern in his face. He tried to hide it but I knew him well enough to see right through his hard-assed persona. “So, we should go in tonight, don’t you think?”

I could tell he wanted to say no.  And I knew it was because he wanted to protect me. But I’d been through and seen enough to know that he couldn’t protect me, not really. I had to learn to defend myself.  Trevor couldn’t be with me, twenty-four-seven, no matter how much I wanted him to be.

“Yeah,” he finally said, “its best we find out for sure now, instead of running scared about it.”

I stood.  “Let’s go then.”

“You’re going now?” Chloe jumped to her feet. “But, but, that’s like...I don’t know weird.”

“Why is it weird?”

“Because you’re going to like melt into my floor or something.” She shivered.

I laughed. “It’s not like there’s going to be pieces of us left in your rug, dude.”

“I know, it’s just, unsettling to watch you do it.” She wrapped her arms around herself.

I went to her and hugged her hard.  “Then don’t watch.”

“Can you turn off that light and turn on your lamp?” Trevor stood in the middle of the room, or as middle as he could get considering the sparse floor space.

Chloe turned off the overhead light and switched on her bedside lamp. The shadows instantly bled across the room and I could feel them creep toward me.  I shivered inside my jacket. It was still a strange sensation for me even after all these months. To sense the shadows. To feel them nearby. It sent a prickling over my skin. Like standing outside in a middle of a thunderstorm. The static electricity buzzed my body.