Dark Realms (76 page)

“I still can’t believe it,” I said, turning
past Ruth’s Diner. “The guys from ‘Venom’ are vampires and
werewolves? Seriously?”

“I guess so,” said Susan. “We all saw what
was happening.”

There was a loud thud on the roof of the car
and we all screamed

“What was that?!” cried Susan.

Shaken, I pulled over to the side of the
road.

“No fucking way,” whispered Susan in horror
as the gargoyle from Club Nightshade, leaped from the top of my car
to the pavement in front of us. It opened its mouth and let out a
monstrous roar.

Terrified, I threw the car in reverse, and
punched it. The tires squealed in protest as we raced
backwards.

“Watch out! There’s something behind us!”
screamed Melody, staring back.

Before I could blink, we slammed into
whatever it was and there was a loud thud under the tires.

“OhmyGod!” screeched Melody, as we rolled
over whatever it was that we hit.

I slammed my foot on the brake and the car
came to a halt.

“What did we just hit?” asked Susan, her
voice shaky.

Trembling, I looked at her.
“Maybe it was that
thing
. It could have flown around and
came at us from the back.”

“Then who cares if we hit it,” said Melody.
“We need to get the hell out of here.”

“But, what if it was someone’s dog?” cried
Susan. “Or worse yet, we could have just ran over an innocent
person taking a walk!”

I caught a movement in the corner of my eye
and Melody screamed as Susan’s door was ripped away from its
hinges.

“Susan!” I cried as the winged monster
dragged her out of the car, kicking and screaming.

“Help me!” she shrieked, trying to get out
of the beast’s grasp.

Crying, I jumped out of the car and raced
towards them. “Leave her go you freak!” I screamed, beating on the
gargoyle’s reptilian head with my fists. The scales hurt my
knuckles, but I ignored the pain and kept punching.

“Chelsey!” screamed Susan, still frantically
trying to get out of the gargoyle’s grasp.

The monster screeched angrily and then
backhanded me, sending my body flying across the road. My head hit
the pavement and I felt a burst of hot pain in my skull, but all I
could think about was Susan. I scurried back up and then cried out
in horror as the beast leaped into the sky still clutching my
closest friend in the world.

I closed my eyes and fainted.

Chapter
Sixteen

Chelsey

When I was finally able to open them later,
I was lying in a hospital bed. Confused, I tried to sit up but the
pain in my head made it impossible to move.

“You’re awake,” said a nurse, peeking her
head into the room. She was tall, with short curly red hair, and
green glasses.

“Yes,” I replied in a raspy voice.

She walked inside and began examining me.
“How do you feel?” she asked, checking my pulse.

“My head hurts. A lot,” I replied, wincing
as I moved it.

Her smile was sympathetic. “I’ll get the
doctor and I’m sure he’ll order something for the pain.”

“Is my mom here?” I asked. My head was a
little fuzzy and I couldn’t exactly remember why I was even in the
hospital.

“Uh, no. Let me get the doctor,” she said,
walking away.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember what
happened. After a few seconds, the memory of Susan being carried
away by the freaky gargoyle came back to me and I started to
panic.

Someone knocked on the door as I tried
getting out of the bed to search for my phone.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Hey, Sleepyhead,” said a man wearing a
white lab coat.

The nurse walked in behind him and they both
approached the bed.

“How are you feeling, Chelsey?” he asked,
looking at a clipboard.

“My head hurts.”

“I’m sure it does,” he replied.

“
Um, can you tell me if
there was a girl named Susan Fields who may have either visited me
or was admitted here?”

The doctor removed his reading glasses. “No,
not that I’m aware of. Is she a friend of yours?”

I nodded. “Yes. Where are my mom and
dad?”

He sighed. “Actually, we’re not real sure.
We tried contacting them and they haven’t returned any of our
calls.”

My eyes widened. “What? How long have I been
here?”

“Since last night,” he replied.

That was strange…

“Okay, well what about my cousin, Melody
Fairfax? Did she bring me in?”

“No, actually a young man brought you here
and then left rather quickly,” said the doctor. He tapped his pen
against the metal on the clipboard “That’s what I was told, at
least.”

“Who?” I asked.

“I’m really not sure,” he replied. “Look,
Chelsey, the sheriff will be in to see you sometime this evening.
He has some questions for you.”

“Good, because I need to speak to him too,”
I replied. “Do you know where my things are? I need my phone.”

“They’re in here,” said the nurse, opening
the closet door. She pulled out my purse and walked it over to
me.

“Thanks,” I replied, taking it from her. I
unzipped the top, pulled out my cell phone, and then quickly dialed
my mom’s cell phone.

“We’ll be back in a minute,” murmured the
doctor.

“Thanks,” I replied as mom’s phone continued
to dial. When she didn’t answer, I left her a message and then
dialed my dad.

“
Dad, call me. I’m in the
hospital, the one in Shore Lake, I believe,” I said, staring
outside, into the darkness. It was after eight, and I couldn’t
imagine why they hadn’t been to the hospital yet. “I can’t get a
hold of mom, either, and… I’m scared.”

Next, I tried calling both Melody and Susan,
but neither of them answered. Trying to remain calm, I sent them
both texts.

I searched for my Aunt Jody’s name in my
contact list and dialed her as well, but got the same results.

What in the hell is going on? Why weren’t
any of them answering my calls or texts?

My eyes filled with frustrated tears as I
tried my mom again. “Mom, please call me!” I choked into the phone.
“I need you!”

As I hung up, there was another knock at the
door.

“Yes,” I said, wiping the wetness from my
cheek.

A man with dark hair poked his head in the
door and smiled. “Excuse me? Chelsey Fairfax?”

I forced a smile. “Yes.”

“I’m Caleb Smith, the sheriff here in Shore
Lake. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Yes, of course,” I replied, sitting up
straighter. “I’m glad that you’re here.”

He chuckled. “Now that’s not a phrase I hear
every day.”

I pulled the blanket in tightly. “I’m so
scared, Sheriff. I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know where
my parents are, and I think my best friend might be dead.”

His eyes widened. “Whoa,” he said, reaching
into his brown uniform. He pulled out a pen and a small note pad.
“Now you’re scaring me. Chelsey, I think we’d better start from the
top. Tell me how you ended up with that bruise on your head? What
do you remember?”

“Uh, okay. Have you spoken to my
parents?”

He sat down next to me. “I’m trying to
locate them. Have they been traveling lately?”

“No,” I said, and then proceeded to tell him
about my cousin Melody.

“You say she’s missing?” he asked.

“Well, she was and then I found her. But…now
she is again. I think.”

He frowned. “I’m confused.”

Sighing, I started from the beginning and
told him everything. When I got to the part of how we used the fake
I.D.’s to get into Club Nightshade, his eyes narrowed. “Obviously,
you know that’s against the law.”

“I know,” I replied. “And…
I realize that it was stupid. Very stupid. But, we
did
find Melody.” I
proceeded to tell him the rest of my story, but when I got to the
fight involving the band Venom, he stopped me.

“Chelsey, were you taking any drugs last
night? Any hallucinogens?”

I shook my head vehemently.
“No,” I replied. “Absolutely not! It was all real, Sheriff, I swear
to God. I’m
not
making any of this up.”

From the expression on his face, he
obviously did not believe me. He scratched the side of his cheek.
“Hmm… Well, why don’t you just continue?”

I did, but when I got to the part of Susan
being swept away by the freaky-assed gargoyle, he groaned. “Come
on, Chelsey… you can’t expect me to believe that, now can you?
Honestly, a gargoyle?”

I grit my teeth.
“You
have
to
believe me! It really happened!”

“You’re talking about vampires,
Chelsey.”

“Yes, and werewolves!”

He closed his eyes and sighed.

“Look, did you find my car?” I asked,
getting desperate. “The gargoyle ripped the door right off of it. A
human couldn’t do that!”

“We did not find your car anywhere,” he
replied, jotting on his notepad. “We’ll keep searching for it,
though.”

“We’ll, it happened about a
quarter of a mile east from Ruth’s Diner,” I protested. “It’s got
to be there. Unless, Melody drove off with it. Have you spoken
to
her
?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

My head began to pound even harder.
Frustrated I covered my face. “What is happening? My family is
missing and so is my best friend.”

“We’ll find them,” he replied. “I’m sure
they’re fine. Hell, maybe they’re out driving around, trying to
find you.”

“They thought I was seeing a movie, last
night” I replied.

He scowled. “Obviously, they were wrong.”
The sheriff stood up. “Let me make some phone calls and see if I
can send someone out to your aunt’s place.”

I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose. “Thank
you, sheriff.”

“We’ll keep trying to get a hold of your
parent’s, too,” he said, walking towards the doorway.

“When can I go home?” I asked.

“I’ll check with the doctor and if you can
leave, I’ll drive you home,” he said, putting the notepad in his
pocket. “Maybe we’ll run into your parents.”

“I hope so. Thanks,” I replied.

He gave me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry,
honey, we’ll reunite you with your parents soon enough. Let me
speak to the doctor and we’ll get the ball rolling.”

“Okay.”

After he left, I got out of bed and pulled
my clothing out of the closet. I then went into the bathroom,
washed my face, and then changed back into my sweater and jeans. A
few minutes later, there was another knock on the door.

“Yes?” I said.

The door opened and the nurse from earlier
appeared. “Here, I brought you something to ease the pain,” she
said, holding two white pills and a small cup of water.

“Thanks,” I said, talking them from her.

“You might feel a little sleepy,” she said,
staring at me as I swallowed them down. “But at least the pain will
subside.”

“What did the doctor say about my head?” I
asked.

“You have a slight concussion, nothing too
serious.”

“Okay. Does that mean I can leave soon?”

“Yes, the sheriff is talking to the doctor
now. I’m sure you’ll be checking out soon enough.”

“Cool.”

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks nurse,” I squinted to look at her
name tag. “Jennifer Gardener.”

“You’re welcome Chelsey. Relax and wait for
the sheriff.”

After she left, I grabbed my cell phone.
When I noticed that there was a message from Melody, I sighed in
relief. I quickly dialed my voicemail and listened.

“Chelsey- it’s Melody. Listen, you’ve got to
get out of the hospital, now! Don’t go anywhere with Sheriff Caleb,
he’s one of them Chelsey. A freaken vampire! I’m serious… don’t say
anything to him or go anywhere with him. Meet me in the parking
ramp. Fourth floor. Don’t tell anyone, especially the sheriff,
Caleb.” She began to cry. “They’ve already gotten to our parents,
Chels. They’re dead! Please, hurry and get your ass out to the
parking lot!”

Caleb was a vampire?!

Our parents were dead?!

Choking back a sob, I grabbed my purse and
rushed to the door. Just when I was about to open it, someone
knocked from the other side.

Crap, crap, crap!

Trying to remain calm, I pulled the door
open, and stood face-to-face with Sheriff Caleb.

“Oh good,” he said, beaming a bright smile
at me. “You’re ready. Perfect timing because I’ve been told that
you can leave as long as you’re under my protection.” He rubbed his
hands together. “I’ve already signed you out, so we can just go. I
take it you’re all set?”

I swallowed hard. “Uh,
actually, I’m
almost
ready, but my stomach hurts. I think I have to go to the
bathroom. Can I just meet you in the lobby?”

His smile fell. “Uh, sure. I can wait for
you there.”

I smiled in relief. “Good. I won’t be long,
Sheriff. Thanks so much for doing this.”

“No problem. You know,” he looked at his
watch. “I need to call a friend of mine anyway. Tell her I’m
running late.”

“Good idea.”

After he left, I waited a few minutes and
then snuck out of my room and down the hallway. I then followed the
signs until I found an exit that led to the parking ramp. When I
reached the fourth floor of the lot, my eyes scanned the cars, but
I didn’t recognize any of them. Sighing, I pulled out my cell phone
to call Melody, when an old black Firebird with tinted windows
turned the corner of the lot and headed towards me, its engine
rumbling with power. My heart began to race and I almost turned and
ran, but then the passenger window rolled down and a hand waved at
me.

“Melody,” I said, sighing in relief as the
car stopped next to me.