Chapter Six
As they walked, Romy felt like the world was spinning off its axis.
Yes, she’d agreed to follow him and find help together.
It was the right thing to do. The only thing to do.
And Tanner seemed like a very normal, reliable guy.
So when he calmly explained that what she saw was a vampire, it had to mean that Tanner was actually crazy. Right? Because vampires weren’t real.
Except that if he was crazy, what did she actually see? Because his insane theory actually… fit all the facts.
Which meant that vampires were real.
“Wait. I’m going to throw up,” she muttered.
“Okay.” He stopped walking and steered her to the side of the faint path, near a tree.
Romy bent over, but while her stomach was in turmoil and her legs were shaking, nothing came out. “Maybe I’m not. I want to throw up.”
“I know.”
“How can you be so chill?” she demanded. She realized she was still holding on to her angel wings. She had no idea why.
“Training. Also, I was always told vampires exist. My family is… a little different.”
“Why do I want to hurl?”
“You’re in shock. It’s okay. Let’s keep walking and find help for you. And everyone.”
The valley was long and narrow, the Georgia hills deceptively close. It felt like they should be able to just clamber up a slope, but Tanner had tried several times; the wet ground and steep angles just made it impossible with what they had.
Romy paused, holding still as she tried to listen for other voices, or music. It was there, but faint and shifting, bouncing off the hills until it was impossible to know where it originated. Occasionally a strobe light would flash, blindingly bright in the misty air.
Wait. The air wasn’t misty before.
“Tanner, it’s getting foggy,” she said, alarm spiking in her belly.
Then mist started pouring down into the narrow valley.
“What is this? Some more special effects?” she asked.
“Not sure,” Tanner replied, now about twenty feet ahead of her because he hadn’t stopped walking. “It’s too intense for natural weather. Romy, don’t lose sight of me.”
“Why would I do that?” She hurried a few steps forward, but even as she did, a ragged cloud of fog drifted between them. No way this was a natural phenomenon.
She ran to the spot Tanner was standing, certain she’d run right into him. But she kept running, too far. She stopped and whirled around, confused.
“Tanner? Where’d you go?”
“Romy! Don’t move.”
She heard his voice. It wasn’t far off, but she couldn’t tell for the life of her where he was. Thick, cloying mist obscured everything more than ten feet away, and the shape of the land made sounds bounce and echo in unfathomable ways.
Wait! She had the flashlight they’d won after solving the maze. Romy pulled it from the pocket of the sweatshirt, and flicked it on, beaming it out into the mist.
“Tanner! I’m here! Follow the light!” she called out as loud as she could. “Tanner!”
She heard her own voice echoing off the curve of the hills. She held silent, praying that she’d hear her name next.
Nothing.
Maybe he was out of hearing range? Or confused. He couldn’t have gone far.
Romy spun slowly in a circle, not sure where he was or when he would see the beam. Just as she completed one rotation, the light began to flicker.
“Oh, no you don’t, you little shit,” she muttered, whacking the side of the flashlight to encourage the batteries to connect. The beam steadied for a moment…then died.
One is none.
“Tanner!” she screamed. Where the hell was he? Couldn’t he hear her? Was he ignoring her? Was this some kind of sick game? Scare the girl by talking about vampires and monsters, then run away?
But she’d seen the dead woman in the woods with her own eyes. She’d touched the skin, felt for the pulse that wasn’t there.
This wasn’t a game.
“Tanner!”
She inhaled shakily. Her heartbeat pattered and sweat prickled on her forehead, despite the cold mist. She was panicking.
“I’m panicking,” she said out loud. “No, I’m not panicking. I’m talking about panicking. I’m turning off the stupid flashlight. I’m putting it back in my pocket. God, why do I still have these stupid wings?”
She glared at the too-expensive accessory, hundreds of real white feathers now dirty and ruined. Next they would probably molt right off.
Romy blinked as an idea hit her.
“I’m ripping up my stupid angel wings. I’m dropping a white feather on the ground. If I see a feather, it means I’m retracing my steps. Picking that direction… and walk.”
Romy didn’t run. Running would mean she was scared. And yeah, she was scared out of her mind, but no one else needed to know that.
She wasn’t sure how long she walked, checking her progress against the sky.
She once thought she heard a scuffling sound, but it was probably just an animal scurrying in the dark.
Tanner would be calling for her… wouldn’t he?
And a vampire definitely wouldn’t scuffle.
It would just pounce. She tried not to think of the dead girl’s pale face and staring eyes.
Every time she dropped a feather, she yelled out for Tanner.
He never answered, and while it wasn’t fair of her to feel abandoned, the truth was that she had gotten very comfortable with him, very fast. Like, kissing-him-in-that-dark-maze comfortable.
She didn’t have his number, so how could she contact him when she got out of here?
If she got out of here. There was the whole “vampires are real” thing to worry about, which she should probably be concentrating on instead of how to get a date with the hot guy she just met.
“Tanner!” she yelled, flicking another feather to the ground.
“Hey, angel.”
She gasped. “Tanner?”
Fumbling with the flashlight, she shone it toward the voice.
There stood Tanner. Jeans, T-shirt over long-sleeve shirt. Army jacket.
“Oh, my god. Where were you? I thought I lost you.”
“I’m right here,” Tanner said, smiling. “Come on. I know how to get you out of here.”
“You do? Oh, finally!” She hurried forward and reached out to take his hand. His hand was awfully cold.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You’re freezing.”
“Long night. I’ll be all right as soon as I can get a hot drink.”
“But you’ve got your jacket back and every…” Romy trailed off, inhaling again. Hot drink. She glanced around at the trees surrounding them. She pointed to one tree in particular. “Hey, do you see that?” She jerked free of his grip, and ran over to the tree.
“What are you doing?” Tanner asked impatiently.
“I thought something looked different over here,” she said. Her heart thumped in her chest like she’d run a mile. “Let me just check…” She knelt down in the fallen leaves, groping around.
“Come, angel,” Tanner said. “Or I’ll leave without you.”
That was the last straw. She straightened up, keeping one hand hidden. “Where won’t I hike?”
He tilted his head, not blinking. “Excuse me?”
“It’s a simple question. Where. Won’t. I. Hike.”
“Uhhhh…”
“You’re not Tanner, you asshole!” She hurled the stone in her hand with all her might.
The stone connected with the fake Tanner’s temple, and he staggered, his head spinning over 90 degrees around.
“Ouch,” he muttered. Then he swung his head back and grinned at her. “You’re feisty.”
His mouth was open, revealing two long, sharp fangs among the normal teeth.
“Holy fuck,” she gasped. She grabbed another stone, and tried to hit him again, aiming for the fangs.
But he was ready this time. He rushed her with inhuman speed, and had her pinned against the tree trunk, unable to wiggle free, let alone run.
“Hmmm, what did I find? Some angel food cake? You look fucking delicious,” the vampire purred, surveying her with red eyes and an icy smile. It ran a finger down her upper arm, just like what happened in the dark maze.
Romy whimpered. She couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything.
“Think I’ll just have a bite.”
The vampire leaned in and licked her neck. Romy’s heart went cold.
Then the vampire grunted, and went flying sideways.
Tanner was there, holding a bigger rock. “Romy, get the hell out of here! Run. Just run.”
“I’m not leaving you!”
The vampire gave an exultant laugh as it sprang to its feet. “I love hot-blooded men.”
And then it went for Tanner.
It was so strong. Tanner was tall and tough and trained for actual war, and this thing was stronger than him. It probably would snap Romy’s spine in two if it wanted. She sank to the ground, her legs rubbery and her heart pounding.
Romy’s guts heaved when the vamp latched on to Tanner’s neck. I am witnessing a murder, she thought, feeling the bile rise.
Then her brain fought back. I like this guy. I’m not letting him get murdered by something that doesn’t even exist.
She crawled toward a nearby pile of branches and pulled out one about three feet long. She got to her feet and ran toward the vampire, holding the wood like a baseball bat.
The vampire was gorging itself on Tanner’s blood.
Romy swung directly at the thing’s skull.
The crack echoed through the whole narrow valley. Tanner sagged to the ground. The vampire staggered, blinking. “What the—”
She hit it again.
“Ow,” the vamp muttered, trying to shake it off. It staggered again, looking totally disoriented.
“Come at me, you undead motherfucker,” Romy screamed.
The vampire straightened up and glared at her. “I like my food spicy. I’m going to drain every last drop out of you, girl.”
Then it rushed straight at her.