Alive at Sunset (Rituals of the Night Series Book 2) (13 page)

Luna didn’t want to wait to find out. If he had another knife, she was sure he’d waste no time in using it. She took a step away as her limbs finally regained feeling before she squeezed through the space between him and the door and ran. She ran through the apartment complex as fast as she could without looking back once. She realized, horrified, that she recognized his truck in the parking lot.

There was no way of mistaking the fact that it was real.

T
he sight of the truck gave her more energy to power her stride even though she was dead tired. She didn’t want to run that much but the pain and overexertion felt better than staying by Chance. She winced at the thought of it. She kept running. She was worried that she would turn around and see him behind her. She was scared of seeing those malicious eyes with full intent to kill. Finally, she was exhausted enough to lose the feeling in her legs, and she collapsed to the ground.

Her elbows burned from the scrapes when she hit the cement, but she hardly noticed the pain. All that mattered was that Chance was back. Even though she saw it for herself, she couldn’t believe it was true. She couldn’t believe Max had been right; that something
had
been wrong in DreamWorld, and she had done nothing to try to help.

Suddenly, the gears in her mind began to turn and everything made sense as they clicked into place. She was disappointed in herself for not coming to the conclusion sooner; the conclusion that Max had vehemently tried telling her about. Chance’s memory was fine. The suspicion behind David’s and Lucky’s death was made clear as the spotlight shone on it. Their deaths were strange because they had been murders. Bad luck was targeting her because Chance was making sure of it.

The worst part of her situation was that Chance recognized her without a heartbeat of hesitation. That meant he remembered everything about her.

That was her worst nightmare come to life.

She always had the nagging voice in the back of her mind that worried things wouldn’t be over so easy. It was right; he managed to enter her life once again. All of her horrific memories from her senior year came flooding back in the intricate details that her therapy had managed to repress.

It didn’t matter that she lived in a town an hour away from her hometown. That place might as well have been directly in the warzone of her melancholy past since the biggest reminder had come to visit her on her doorstep. She knew how dangerous Chance was, knew exactly what he was capable of. He had no emotions, no affection, no remorse, and wanted no friends. He was alone, and that was what drove him onward. He was a cold-blooded killer, worse than a king cobra. When he had been young, he killed his own parents for a taste of blood.

As she stood there in the middle of the town, her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as a stiff breeze buffeted her. She shivered as she crossed her arms over her chest. It was oddly cold for wind in the middle of the summer, but she wondered if she only imagined it to be that bad. Goosebumps raced up her flesh, making the hair puff up on her arms. She forced herself to keep walking.

She couldn’t stand the look on her enemy’s face the moment she had opened the door. He had worn such a solid look of triumph like he had actually won at a hard fought chess game. She knew he believed that he had won, and she hated to admit it, but maybe he had. Chance had found her after all the years that had passed. He got out of his coma and got his memory back and managed to find her even after she left her home and moved an hour away to try to have a normal life.

He must’ve used David to draw me out,
she thought.
That was how he found me…that was how he found Amanda.

He was destroying everything that mattered to her again. Driving her right back to the place of grief and misery she lived in during her senior year. Maybe he
had
won after all. She was merely a fool for thinking otherwise, for thinking she had managed to outsmart him.

He was too smart, too insane to escape from.

He was a sociopath -when he wanted to get something done, he’d do it no matter what toll it took. That wasn’t good news for Luna or Max, or even Sarah and Amy if he decided they had crossed him in some way as well. He was back to finish what he had started, and she knew that meant for sure that he was back for Max and her.

The blinding pain erupted in her stomach again as if her thought summoned it. It crippled her, and she collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. A hand clutched painfully at her stomach and tears rolled down her face. She curled into the tightest ball she could imagine, wishing that something could end her agony. The pain seemed to move up her torso as if an invisible knife sliced her gut open to release all of her organs inside. She was sure the pain would either put her into shock or knock her unconscious.

Nothing seemed to matter at that moment. She wished that she didn’t have to feel anything anymore. It felt as bad as when he had stabbed her. Luna wondered if it was the way Kate and Susan felt when he killed them. She ground her teeth as waves of hurt bubbled upward from her stomach all the way to her diaphragm. When it got to the point where she was finally ready to scream, the pain burst in a climax of misery and then disappeared away into nothing.

She couldn’t feel her stomach anymore, and she was glad for it. Luna gasped strongly, glad for her respite from the agony that had been there only seconds before. She stayed on her hands and knees, face bent to the ground as she struggled to breathe through the tremors that her fit had left rolling through her. Her breaths were ragged and rattled as she struggled to bring air into her lungs.

When her pain dissolved, she found she was horrified. She had no idea why she had decided to run from the apartment. She knew from experience that wouldn’t solve anything. He would find her, he always did. Not to mention she had left Amanda there with him…alone.

Chance’s favorite victims were small, young, unsuspecting females. Girls that he was physically stronger than, people that he could overpower. Luna mentally kicked herself; she had presented that to him in the form of Amanda. She had to get back to the apartment -she had to make sure Amanda was alright. She couldn’t let her new friend share the fate of her old one. After she saved her roommate, she had to call Max and let him know she was wrong. He had been right…she should’ve known better.

Lesson learned; when Max had something to say, she should always listen.

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

An hour later, her nerves had managed to settle though she was still on edge. She decided to walk to her university. Even though she wasn’t supposed to be there, the campus felt welcoming and safe. She needed a chance to rest and have her gut relax before she headed to the apartment.

She decided that not going directly back to the apartment was a worse choice. Every shadow made her wary, every corner made her anxious. She felt as if her heart was ready to explode when she heard the slightest sound. She decided to go back to the apartment.

She had to forget the odd qualm of pain; she could fix it later. If Chance decided to kill Amanda, there was no fixing that if she was too late. She was worried about what she would see when she got home, but she knew she had to do it. She couldn’t stand to handle another death. If she could save Amanda, then that’s what she would do. It was the least she could manage to do to make things right after Violet and Amy.

Finally, Luna made it back home. Her heart had settled a bit, but she was still on edge. She hoped Amanda hadn’t locked the door on her because it was too important to be detoured. As carefully as she could, she pushed the door, and it swung open gently. She let out a sigh of relief, but it didn’t last long as she remembered her mission.

She hoped with all her heart that Amanda was okay. If Chance had killed her in the time Luna had presented to him, then she would never forgive herself. Inside the apartment, the light was off. Luna frowned as she realized that Amanda had left with Chance for their date. Luna stumbled into the apartment, closing the door behind her as she rushed to turn on the lamp. She wouldn’t accept her friend was okay until she gave the apartment a thorough search for any signs of something wrong.

Throughout her search, she found the apartment was clean, no signs of a struggle. Maybe Amanda was alright…for the time being. Luna frowned again as she stepped into the kitchen. All thoughts of being in the apartment alone left her mind. She felt ashamed of herself for her superficial fear. All she could do was worry for Amanda’s safety. She would worry about it until she saw her home again. Part of her wondered if her anxiety was the way Sarah felt when Susan went missing.

Luna flicked on the light in the kitchen. Instantly, she noticed the folded square as it sat perfectly centered in the middle of the table. Luna’s heart fluttered the moment she noticed it. She knew it was a note, but she wondered what it said...and who had written it. She reached out a trembling hand to grab the paper.

As quickly as her uncertain fingers could manage, she unfolded it. Her automatic response would be to drop it, but she was mildly enticed to read what it had to say. Had Chance kidnapped Amanda as his way of getting back to her? Her gut forced her to read what it said.

To Luna:

Amanda wanted me to write you a note to tell you we were leaving for our date. I think that’s much too form of a letter since you probably figured it out anyways. That’s blondes for you. Don’t worry about your friend, she’s alright for now.

Anyways, I have my own things to say to you in this note, dear Luna. I haven’t forgotten about that day in the woods all those years ago. I haven’t forgotten how you humiliated me, ruined me, and wasted years of my life that I’ll never get back. I can never undo the damage that you’ve caused by wrecking my ambitions and severely inconveniencing me.

Before I tried to use you for your power, and I know now that that was a big mistake. You were too smart to be a pawn, but luckily I’m the type to learn from my mistakes. I’m not attempting to use dreams for my ambitions this time. I’m gonna run you into the ground; ruin your life worse than you ruined mine. You’re gonna wish I killed you years ago. You better pray, Honey, because the Devil is coming for you now.

~Your Worst Nightmare

The note tugged at her insides, and she feared that the pain in her gut would come out again. Her heart felt like giving out and her brain, the logic of her system, wanted to agree. Her system wanted to shut down and admit defeat. After the years of believing she was free, that she could live the rest of her life without fear, she was still in danger.

He wasn’t going to try to make her help him; he was done with her. She was disposable, and she knew that meant he would kill her at the first available moment as he had done to Violet. He’d make sure her demise would be painful and would drag out as long as he could manage. Luna tucked the note into her pocket and without thinking, she began to pray. Pray as her worst enemy had suggested.

T
he date with Amanda had been long, much longer than he had intended. He found that although Amanda was pretty, she reminded him too much of Luna’s old friend, Violet. On the date, he didn’t need to speak. Amanda would speak for long gaps of time and answer her own questions without giving him a second to himself. To her, all of his charm was in his appearance; he didn’t need clever words to sway her.

Finally, the end of the night came, and he couldn’t feel more relieved. He kissed her on the lips before waiting for her to leave his truck. He closed the door and prepared to drive away when movement outside the apartment a few feet away caught his attention. It wasn’t Amanda that he noticed, the figure was much smaller. He squinted towards the shape. It didn’t take him long to realize that it was Luna.

He wondered when she had gotten back, and if she had found his note. The note he had written out of pure spite. When he saw her a few hours ago, he wondered how she would react to him, but he learned that nothing changed. She still feared and loathed him. He would have been able to tell that sooner except her mind had been closed off for quite some time.

The moonlight illuminated her face as she picked up a bicycle off the lawn. He stared at her; his hand was caught in mid-motion above the steering wheel as he observed what she was doing. He hadn’t expected to see her again. Images of that night two weeks ago flooded through his mind suddenly. He could remember all of it vividly; the heat of her skin, the black panties that sliced across her pale ivory stomach. She had never been prettier than she had been that night. Desire at seeing her again after so many years had taken hold of him. Part of him regretted the way it had happened.

He didn’t know why, but he found himself hoping it would change her opinion of him. It made him long for her affection even more. He had used his best weapon, and she still showed no interest in changing her ways.

Yet, one thing remained in his mind. Why hadn’t she gone to the police?

All he was sure of was that he hadn’t known that what he had done would make him feel that way when he decided to try it. He only intended to distract her from calling the cops when he was stealing his dagger back. He hadn’t expected her to wake up. He didn’t know he would stumble across a double-edged sword.

He watched as Luna got on the bike and began riding away in the opposite direction of his truck. She hadn’t noticed him, but he wondered where she was going that late at night. She was alone, which wasn’t strange for her history, but she seemed to be up to something. Up ahead, she disappeared around a corner. He stared after her, feeling curious to see where she was going. Subconsciously, he started his truck and began to follow her.

As she moved, she seemed unaware of his presence. She was moving quickly, too quickly to not have a destination in mind. Her dark hair billowed behind her, and her knuckles clutched the handlebars tight. She was wearing determination in every ounce of her posture.

A few minutes later, she crossed the street. Chance hung back in his truck and watched her to see where she would go next. She threw down her bike on a long patch of grass. He traced the length of lawn to find it ended at a different apartment building. Who in the world was she visiting at night?

He squinted through his window as he watched her jump up onto the nearest porch. She pulled a key out of her pocket and opened the front door. She had been there before obviously; he wondered how many times she had. He watched her through the glass as she knocked on the first door inside. He recognized the heavy figure that opened it. Luna stepped past him confidently -he was her safety net. Chance ground his teeth as jealousy flushed through him.

He hated Max more than ever.

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

Luna took a deep breath as she stared at the hardwood of Max’s front door. She hadn’t visited her old friend in a long time, and she didn’t even know if Max was home or not. If he was, would he offer her hospitality, or be bitter at her for being so hostile? Chance’s reappearance into her life had compelled her to go and visit him.

Forget calling, she had things that she needed to say to him in person. He knew what was happening more than anyone. Even Luna’s Teardrop of Knowledge could never make her as informative as he was. Finally, she worked up the nerve to knock on his door. It was silent for a minute, and her heart filled once more with anxiety as she wondered if he would answer it. The door opened to reveal Max.

He looked at her surprised, and he had every right to be. “Hi, Luna, what are you doing here?”

“Hi, Max, it’s been a while. Can I come in?” she asked tiredly.

“Of course you can,” he said, stepping into the hallway to allow Luna to pass into his apartment.

Max glanced around for a minute before pulling the door shut behind him. “So, what drove you to finally come out here and see me?” he asked, sitting down on the couch.

Luna stayed standing in the middle of the room as she decided what to say. “Chance found me.”

“You believe me?” he asked.

She nodded. “I was face to face with him. There’s no getting around it. I’ll admit I was in denial when he woke up from his coma. I was hoping his memory was gone. I know better than to ignore it now.”

“About time,” he said sarcastically. “Convincing you to believe me took an unnecessary amount of time I think when you know that I’m
always
right. He found you?”

“He’s dating Amanda,” Luna said.

“Your roommate?” Max asked.

Luna nodded. “Yeah. He came to our apartment tonight to pick her up. I think she’s okay for the time being.”

“She’s in danger though,” Max warned. “With Chance, she’s always going to be in danger even if he spares her for a few dates.”

“I know.” Luna sighed. “But what can I do? Tell her about him? She’ll never believe it with all the DreamWorld nonsense.”

“You’re probably right,” Max said.

Max and Luna stared each other down for a long moment. Neither of them had a thing to say as their minds scoured their memories.

“You can sit down,” Max said, finally gesturing to the spot beside him as he organized his thoughts.

“That’s alright,” she said, pacing a few steps away from the couch. “How did this happen, Max? How is this Chance thing happening again?”

“He knew his DreamWorld stuff. He found a loophole, and one that I didn’t consider,” Max said.

“But you said his memory loss was permanent!” Luna said. “You didn’t say there could be a ‘but’.”

“I didn’t know he was that clever,” Max admitted. “At school he always acted like an idiot.”

“Yeah, he
acted
like it, but you knew that he was smart. Which means you also knew he could’ve found a way out?” Luna asked incredulously.

Max was silent as he looked at his hands.

“There is something I’ve been wondering for years that I never bothered to bring up,” she said.

Max raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. “What is it, Luna?”

“How do you know what you know?” she asked. “How are you so smart about DreamWorld that you can actually
compete
with Chance?”

Max smiled and looked down at his hands. “That’s a long story, Luna. Not one of my proudest times. I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“I can’t accept that answer.”

“What do you want me to say?” he asked. “You know I went to juvie –let’s just say it was around the same time.”

Luna narrowed her eyes as she stared at him. “Why can’t you answer it, Max? I’ve told you everything, but you’re unwilling to do the same.”

“It’s not important, okay? That’s why. What’s important is what we’re going to do
now
. Why are you trying to change the subject?”

Luna folded her arms over her chest as she turned her back to him. “This nightmare can’t happen again.”

“Why are you running, Luna?” he asked. “Ignoring it won’t make the problem go away.”

“I don’t want to do this again, Max, don’t you understand?” she asked, holding her fingers to her temple.

“You think I do?” he asked, standing to his feet.

“Why didn’t you warn me all those years ago, Max?” she asked breathlessly.

“I thought it worked with no catches, but Chance really knows what he’s doing,” Max said.

“Why isn’t he in jail?” Luna asked him, wide-eyed. “After all that he’s done, he should’ve been locked up a long time ago.”

“I agree, but it may be my fault,” he said, breathing in through his teeth.

“How? Max, what did you do?” Luna asked.

“Before you get too mad, just remember the situation you left me alone in.”

Luna pursed her lips as she tried to patiently listen.

“They never targeted him because I never told the police that he did it,” Max said slowly.

“What!!??” Luna screeched, feeling instantly horrified as she turned on him.

“Think about this from my point of view for a minute,” Max pleaded. “Trust me when I say that I wish I could’ve taken my opportunity to put Chance in jail. But I couldn’t. I was injured, and Violet was dead. Chance was unconscious and was found in a temple next to what was left of a satanic ritual where a body was burning in front of it. I couldn’t make an excuse that would explain all of that. I would’ve had to tell the truth. They wouldn’t have believed me if I had, Luna. They would’ve taken me to a mental hospital.”

“So, what
did
you tell them?” Luna asked, still feeling tense. All the news that she got lately was worse and worse.

“I told them I got shot with a stray bullet, and I didn’t see where it came from,” Max admitted.

“And they believed that?” Luna asked. The story sounded so hollow, such an obvious lie.

“More or less,” Max said, shrugging. “It took a little bit of convincing, but it worked eventually.”

“So, the cops think Chance is a victim,” Luna said bitterly. Somehow that news was more devastating than the rest of it.

“They don’t know what to think of him,” Max admitted. “He was just another piece of a weird situation.”

“This is terrible news!” Luna said, nearly shrieking, not able to hold in how she was feeling.

“It’s not good for us,” Max agreed.

“You knew this for years and never thought to tell me?” Luna asked, thinking of the note in her pocket. Why wasn’t Max as serious as she hoped he would be?

“Don’t look so worried,” Max said, no expression on his face.

Luna turned on him in disbelief. “Are you serious? How could you even say that to me?” She gritted her teeth. “You had the opportunity to end this!”

“Yeah, well, I could say the same to you,” Max said with a huff.

“Excuse me?” Luna asked, turning to glare at him.

“This is as much your fault as it is mine. You were there with him when he was unconscious. You could’ve killed him!”

“I am not a murderer, Max,” Luna said.

“Let’s just agree to disagree that we both made mistakes.”

“Fine, well, what are we going to do now?” she asked.

“I don’t know, honestly,” Max said. “All I know is that we need to make a preemptive strike.”

“I thought you had something planned –I thought that was why you wanted my help?”

Max shook his head. “No, we
need
to plan something…together.”

“Oh, my God. This is it, isn’t it? He’s going to kill both of us, and we’re just gonna sit and wait for it to happen,” she said as she sunk to the couch.

“Luna, we’ve done this before and won,” Max said, sounding ever-so-relaxed as he looked down at her. “We can do it again.”

“He isn’t using dreams this time, Max. It’s different,” Luna argued as she up, hunching her shoulders. “I don’t know what he’s planning to do, but I know he wants revenge. He’ll kill us anyway he can.”

“He can try, but the similarities between the two are there,” he said.

Luna ran her fingers through her hair. She was lost. She finally decided to come to Max because he was supposed to know what to do. He was supposed to be the little bit of sanity in the bizarre situation, yet he wasn’t at all what she had hoped.

“You’re not worried?” Luna asked.

“The way I see it, Luna, is if he’s not using dreams then he’s as weak as any normal person,” Max said. “We could take him down with conventional means.”

“Amy didn’t even know about the dreams, and the ‘normal’ side of Chance still managed to traumatize her,” Luna said. “And Sarah is still more determined than anything to get her revenge. They didn’t know about the weird side of Chance yet their lives are still wrecked. Why do you think he’ll be easier to take down just because he’s taking a different method? He’s crazy and smart, he’s manipulative. He’s something to worry about no matter what, Max, isn’t that the reason you were harassing me?”

“Luna, don’t worry about them, they weren’t as strong as we are. You know Chance will kill them before he comes for you. That’s what this whole thing has been about; don’t you remember his only fear?”