Chapter 8 The Candy Van
THE CANDY VAN
brEE
The horizon was turning orange when we pulled into a gas station.
We'd lost Supra a while back. Orson turned the car off, then leaned across the center console towards me. He attempted to pet my sticky, blood-soaked hair even while the horizon brightened. Dhamphyr blood needed to be in his veins or he’d burn when the sun came up.
"Just drink," I sighed.
"In a moment," Orson responded. He cradled my face, slowly turning me towards him. Delicately, almost apologetic, his lips touched mine. If he thought I wasn’t still pissed at him, then he was wrong. If any one of the three of them should know that I don’t let things go, it was him.
After all, I made sure to repay the favor of forced commitment while turning him into my braindead puppet for an amazing, albeit short, period of time.
"Feed, you're making me nervous," I said against his mouth.
"I've never seen you at dawn," he whispered. "I want to savor the way the sunlight hits you." His thumb brushed over my lips. The terrible thing about love was it could wash away justified anger so easily. I blew out a breath, annoyed with myself.
“Why did you try to leave them?” I asked.
“I’m sorry.” His gaze was steady when he apologized.
“You should be saying that to them, not me.” I looked at Nemo in the backseat. He was staring down at Baz who was still passed out. I sighed.
"It'll be your last dawn if you don't hurry and drink," I insisted. Orson’s hands ran down my arms before he buried his face in my hair.
Fangs dragged down the length of my neck.
The moment they pressed into me, I sagged in the chair.
Orson drank mouthfuls of my blood, pulling even more anger from my body.
When he finished feeding, he sat back, watching the sun rise.
“Can you read French?” Nemo asked him.
“Some,” Orson said. Nemo picked up the journal that had fallen out of Baz’s pants and threw it at Orson’s head.
“Make yourself useful if you’ve decided to stick around.”
“Oh, are you the boss now?” Orson picked up the journal from the floor and flipped open to the middle. Confusion passed over his face and he pulled the book closer.
“Yes, I am the boss now,” Nemo stated. Orson looked at Nemo in the rearview. I held myself still. Maybe if they fought, then things could be worked out.
Right then, Baz woke up. His gloved hand gripped Nemo's thigh as he pushed himself up on shaky arms. Deep breaths came from behind the mask. I remembered the burning pain of those shots—and the aftermath. They left you weak for days.
"So you all aren't dead," Baz rasped. What would his power look like boosted with the serum? Dread pooled low in my stomach. I clasped my hands together and thought back to when I was injected. Orson slid the journal in his pocket.
"It takes multiple doses," I said. "It looked like they shot you with a lot, but even a double dose won't do much.
Whatever change it causes will be minimal and won't happen for at least twenty-four hours.
" I looked at the car clock. It'd been three hours since he'd been shot. Everyone remained silent.
"It won't do much at that dose. I promise. I barely felt different until I'd had several doses." Even if Nemo had the same serum in his veins, he'd been born with it. I was the only one who had experienced this situation before.
"Okay," Baz said. It was the best response I was going to get. I blew out a breath and sank into my chair. Baz slowly turned his mask to stare at Nemo.
"And you. I'm supposed to be in charge," Baz said. There was a bite in his words.
"Baz … " Nemo didn't get to say anything else. Baz reached for the handle, opened the door, and climbed out of the car. Weakly, he stood next to the gas station pumps, staring at them as he leaned against the vehicle.
"Fuck," Nemo stated.
"Being in charge not going the way you want?" Orson laughed before getting out of the car too.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. How could we be fraying so quickly? What we had in Verfallen was so strong, wasn't it? We'd been tested in other difficult situations so why was this different?
"Do you want to leave with Orson?" Nemo asked, dragging me out of my spiraling thoughts.
Dark eyes weighed heavily on me, his power pressing on my neck.
I thought of every moment we'd had together.
From the hate-fueled gaze he sent me the first day we met to nights filled with terrorizing inmates followed by him gently washing the blood from my hair.
"How could you ask that?" We’re soul mates—he knew that. I was more committed to them than anyone else could be. Living without them wasn't an option. And neither was them living without me.
"Sometimes the best thing to do for loved ones is let them go," he said. I looked out the window. Baz was still leaning against the car, while Orson walked towards the gas station store, eyeing the other vehicles for potential theft.
"I won’t let any of you go. I don't care if that means my love isn't right. If it's selfish—" I cut myself off and blew out a breath. "We're just stressed." If I really believed that, why did it sound like a lie?
Nemo leaned forward, spilling into my space. His heart was strong in his chest, and his palm was warm against my cheek.
"I know, Bree. But I need to hear your answer. Do you want to leave with Orson?"
"No," I said. At least I could say that with complete conviction.
"Okay." He smiled. Then he got out of the car, leaving me alone.
"Okay?" I wanted to wring all of their necks. Couldn't they learn to communicate better? I was getting the equivalent of grunts when I needed long-winded assurances of undying devotion. I clicked my tongue and followed the rest of them out into the dawn.
Nemo walked off towards a rusted panel van with a shaky paint job that promoted free candy.
"What are you doing?" Baz asked him.
"There's free candy," he said. I could practically feel Baz's astonishment behind his mask. I expected him to make fun of Nemo for being naive. Instead, he gleefully ran ahead of Nemo.
"Hey!" Nemo called, catching up with a smile. They looked so excited and had pure childish joy as they ran up to the free candy van. I thought about saying something. Perhaps "no" or "don't," but they had to figure out some things on their own. Hadn't Baz used to live out in the world?
Orson came back, and we both watched in silence as the other two knocked on the van's door, pushing and shoving each other while they discussed which candy might be inside.
"Isn't there one with almonds and coconut?"
"Who would make a candy out of that?" Nemo asked in disgust.
"That's true," Baz said. Then they began arguing over whether nougat was real, and then congratulating themselves for recalling Hershey's was the name of a candy bar. Having figured that out, they decided it was the ideal treat to enjoy and wouldn't shut up about it.
"I bet a Hershey's is delicious."
"I want a Hershey's so bad."
"Do you think Hershey's has almonds?"
"What is your obsession with nuts?" Nemo asked suspiciously.
The panel van opened. A man was crouched down in the back. His gray hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and his faded Hawaiian shirt hung open, revealing an expanse of skin and two pert, pink nipples. Behind him, I spied a sheetless twin mattress on the bare metal floor.
"Would you young boys like to come in here and play with my dog?" He had a golden retriever puppy in his arms and a smile on his face. It was, surprisingly, a charming smile. However, the moment he saw a man in a gimp suit and a seven foot serial killer instead of two young boys, it disappeared.
"If you really want me to pet it, I can," Baz said, "but the moment I touch the puppy I'll kill it." The man's face lost all color.
"I'll pet it," Nemo sighed in annoyance, plucking the puppy from the man's hands.
"It's soft," he said with a smile. Baz hovered close, listening as Nemo described in detail how it felt. Then Nemo smelled the dog and began to guess how it might taste. Baz slid his masked face towards the man. Candy van man’s mouth was still hanging open.
"Where is it?" Baz asked suspiciously.
"What!" The man gasped.
"You know what," Baz hissed, sliding closer.
"I don't, I swear! Oh god, did Tommy send you?"
"Yeah, Timmy sent me," Baz said.
"Tommy?"
"Sure, that one." The man's face went white, and sweat stains bloomed under his arms.
"I'm taking your dog," Nemo stated, smiling as it bit his finger.
"What?" The man asked in confusion and shock.
"We are not taking that animal," Orson snapped, stomping towards them. Nemo shot him a scathing look. For a brief moment, we could see the beast move under Nemo’s skin.
It was a rippled ridge of fur, like a shark's fin breaking water before dipping away again. It was Nemo’s threat, warning Orson to not tell him what to do.
In response to the supernatural show, the puppy began growling, and the candy man became incensed. He reached out and grabbed hold of Baz, tugging him closer. Why did people keep doing that?
"He's a monster," the candy man gasped. Black and green broke out across his fingers. He screamed, jerking himself away and scrambling in the van. I heard a car turn into the gas station. Shit, we did not need to make another show like at the grocery store.
Baz leapt up in the van, then popped his head back out.
"Screaming is bad, right?" He asked as the man continued to wail.
"Yes, we don't want attention," I offered quickly.
"Just a sec." He slammed the door shut. The van lurched, and screams of pure panic became muffled until finally, there was silence. A beat passed.
"There's no fucking candy in here!" Baz wailed from inside. I took a relieved breath and turned around. A black SUV had parked beside our stolen car during the brief excitement. Suddenly, all the doors opened at once. My heart dropped.
Baz reopened the van doors.