Descendant (5 page)

“The reason you’re alive?” Sera repeated, shaking her head. “I don’t know what you mean by that.” She paused, as if to consider, but after a minute she shook her head. “But I don’t believe it, regardless. Please don’t let yourself be fooled, Alex—they may have acted otherwise to gain your trust, but I promise you those people would like nothing better than to see you dead.”

My throat was unbearably dry all of a sudden. I started to reach for my glass of water, but changed my mind. “I have to go,” I said , standing up quickly and forcing my chair to scrape hard along the cement.

“Okay,” Sera said.

I was a bit taken-aback by her willingness to just let me leave, but I didn’t let that slow me down. I sgrabbed my purse and shoved my chair in. As I turned to leave I felt her hand on my arm. I turned back to her, and she handed me a small slip of paper, on which she’d scribbled her name and a phone number.

“If you need anything—anything at all —just give me a cal , okay? I won’t be far away.”

I took the paper and nodded hesitantly. Then I shook her grip off my arm and turned and walked as quickly as I could back to my car.

People who wanted you dead general y didn’t save your life. There was no way Sera could be right about them.

life. There was no way Sera could be right about them.

On the other hand, Sera was the only one who had taken the time to explain anything to me—and she hadn’t abandoned my passed out self on my front porch without telling me anything. And she hadn’t gotten me grounded for possibly the rest of my life. That gave her some credibility in my book.

As I drove along trying to sort these things out, I couldn’t help but notice the car behind me—some kind of black Toyota. A Camry, maybe. It was kind of hard to ignore, considering it was eating my bumper. I tried to be patient with them at first; I rolled down my window waved for them to pass me, but they didn’t seem to get the picture. I sped up… they did the same. I slowed down… they did the same. I glared into my review mirror, cursing under my breath.

What the heck was this person’s problem?

I tried to wave him around me again, but he just flashed his bright lights at me in response. I sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. The Toyota was so close now that I couldn’t even see its front bumper. Its windows on either side were tinted, and the driver had the sun visor down, casting shadows that covered his face. The car followed me all the way to Bryant Street, and it nearly rear-ended me as I slowed down to turn into our driveway. As soon as I was out of its way, it revved its engine and shot off like a bul et down the road.

When I pulled up to the house, still mumbling about the Toyota, the first person I saw was my mom. She was sitting in the front porch swing, reading a book that she set down as soon as I stepped out of the car.

“It’s about time you got back, Alex. Where did you go?”

“I got caught up.”

“Doing what?”

“…Talking to somebody,” I replied as I went to retrieve the groceries from the trunk.

“Talking to who?”

I didn’t answer. I’d become distracted—distracted by the gravel dust being thrown up by the black car coming down our driveway. The car pulled to a stop a few feet away from me, and I looked at my mother for an explanation. She looked just as confused as I did.

“Alex? Who is—oh.” My mother’s voice broke off as the sound of a car door slammed. I turned my attention back to the black Toyota, and then to the man who had just stepped out of it. My mouth dropped open in disbelief.

“Kael?” I said in a quiet, unsure voice. Our eyes met for a fraction of a second, and then he looked away.

“You again?”

Again? I shot a confused look at my mom, until a sudden realization came to mind. This man—this violent man from the other day at the lake—was the one who had come by this morning. This man was the one I supposedly had ‘plans’ with.

And this man, according to Sera, wanted me dead.

I had no idea whether Sera’s warning was valid, but all the same I found myself in a hurry all of a sudden. I slammed my car door and sprinted over to the porch, to the relative safety of my mom’s side. We barely had time to exchange a glance before we turned to meet Kael as he leapt up the porch steps to stand before us.

As the initial shock of his sudden appearance began to wear off, I couldn’t help but notice that he looked considerably more clean-cut today, standing there in his baggy jeans and a fitted, black, long-sleeved shirt that he’d rolled up to his elbows. In fact, he looked almost like a normal teenager. And he definitely didn’t seem as threatening today as he had at the other day at the lake.

Still , there was something about him that made me uneasy.

Maybe it was his piercing gaze, or the way his eyes seemed to reflect an unnatural amount of the sun’s rays. Or maybe it was the way he smiled without showing any emotion—it looked like he’d forcibly molded his mouth into the shape of a smile and then taped it into place. It was kind of creepy.

“Forgive me, Mrs. Layton—I don’t mean you any disrespect,” Kael began in a very business-like tone, the taped-on smile instantly fading. “I realize your daughter is being punished, but I was hoping you would permit me to speak with her, perhaps just for a few minutes?”

I turned to my mom anxiously. She threw me an irritated glance and took a deep breath through her nose before replying.

“If you wil recal , Mr.…McClel and was it…?” Kael nodded, even though she didn’t pause long enough to be corrected one way or the other. “…As I said this morning, Alexandra does not need to hear anything you have to say about—”

“And I assume that you recal ,” Kael interrupted in a compulsorily pleasant tone, “what we spoke of this morning? Your daughter is facing a very… pressing…

situation, and our intervention is necessary to assure—”

“What did you two talk about this morning? Mom?” I looked at her expectantly. “You didn’t tell me you two talked about anything?”

“Because he didn’t say anything worth repeating,” my mom said, waving a dismissive hand. “Just a bunch of nonsense…this whole situation…” she added under her breath.

Kael cleared his throat purposely. “As I was saying…”

“I don’t care what you were saying. I told you—it’s a bunch of nonsense. And my family won’t be a part of it.”

“You know as well as I do that you’re a part of this whether you like it or not,” Keal said through clenched teeth. It was obvious that he was trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to not lose his temper. “And you realize, Mrs. Layton, that your actions are not giving us any reason to doubt our suspicions about you?”

I jerked my head towards my mom. Her face had turned blood red.

“I sincerely hope you’re not threatening me, young man.”

“I was merely stating a fact,” Kael said. But he flashed a triumphant smile.

“Mom…?” I said uncertainly. She didn’t reply, and for a moment the two of them stood glaring at each other. I watched them nervously, half afraid they might leap at each other and start ripping throats out any moment now. After what seemed like an eternity though, my mom’s jaw unclenched, and she jabbed her finger towards his car.

“Go. You’ve got about thirty seconds to get off my property or I’m cal ing the cops.”

Wow. Mom was harsh today—even more so than usual. As I watched her continue to give Kael her death glare, I couldn’t help but wonder what he could’ve possibly said this morning that would make her that upset. After all , right now he seemed like a perfectly respectable young man. I mean, besides the fact that he was possibly here because he wanted to kill me.

So far though, he’d done nothing to suggest that was true, and he’d been making an obvious effort to be polite. I looked at Kael, wondering if he was going to dare arguing back. I almost wished he would—if only because I wanted to hear what he had to say. As soon as I laid eyes on him, however, Kael shook his head in annoyance and turned to leave. But he only made it as far as the top porch step before stopping abruptly.

“Alex,” he said, glancing back over his shoulder. “Until we meet again, do me a favor…”

“…What?” I asked.

“Stay away from Sera.”

“How do you know who—”

“Who’s Sera?” Mom asked.

“I happened to be out doing a little…shopping. I saw the two of you talking.” Kael said, addressing me and not bothering to acknowledge that my mom had even spoken.

“What were you doing, hiding in the bushes or something?”

I asked—only half-way jokingly. Because I could total y see this guy being a stalker.

“Hardly,” Kael replied with a smug smile. “You walked right by me. You’re not a very observant person, you know that?”

“Maybe not,” I said with a scowl. “But I kind of have a lot on my mind here lately, so you’ll forgive me if I don’t notice everyone I happen to walk by?”

“Fair enough,” Kael replied, shrugging. “But anyway—stay away from her.”

“I’m not promising anything,” I said, mainly because I didn’t want this guy thinking he could tell me what to do. I didn’t particularly want to see Sera again, anyway. Because the more I thought about it, the more my meeting with her bothered me, and the more I just wanted all these strange people to go away and leave me alone. But he didn’t need to know I wasn’t going to go see her.

“Do what you want then,” he replied with a shrug.

Like I wasn’t going to anyway, I thought with a scoff.

“Right. Well I’ll be seeing you soon, Alex,” he called as he turned and continued down the steps.

“Oh no you won’t,” my mom called to his retreating back.

But Kael simply mimicked her dismissive wave from earlier, keeping his back to us as he reached his car. “No he won’t,” Mom said, turning her attention to me instead.

“You wil not see him, and I—”

“Don’t worry, Mom,” I interrupted as I watched his car disappear down the driveway. “I don’t want anything to do with that guy.”

“…Good,” she said, wary relief spreading across her features. “Well …” She was silent for a few seconds, until Kael’s car was out of sight. “I guess we should do something about lunch before I have to start getting ready for work,” she said.

“I’ve actual y already eaten, Mom. While I was in town.”

Well , that was sort of true.

“You did?”

I was busy trying to avoid my mom’s searching gaze when an earsplitting screech filled the air, followed by what sounded like it might’ve been thunder. Except it was sunny, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Me and Mom exchanged a quick glance.

“That sounded like a wreck,” I said. My mom nodded, and the two of us jumped from the porch and raced down the driveway. The trees that encircled our yard hid the road from view, but as we neared the end of our driveway there was little doubt in my mind that a wreck was what had happened—the scent of burnt rubber and gasoline were already fil ing the air.

I broke through the opening in the trees, several yards ahead of my mom, and saw it immediately. Less than a footbal field’s length away, Kael’s black Toyota rested on its side in the ditch. My stomach turned several somersaults as I watched plumes of smoke bil ow out from under its hood, one side of which looked like a monster truck had rolled over it. As I moved closer I could see that both the front windshield and the driver’s side window were lying in shattered shards on the ground. Besides the massive dent that covered the entire left front fender, there was a second one that graced the left front door. Eying this door anxiously, I cupped a hand over my mouth and rushed over to it.

“Be careful, Alex!” I heard my mom cal from somewhere behind me.

I didn’t giver her warning much thought, and within seconds my free hand rested on the twisted metal of the door frame, where it stayed until I gathered up enough courage to look inside. I cast a nervous glance toward the hood before peering in.

But I didn’t see the horribly mangled body I’d been expecting. In fact, I didn’t see a body at all . Confused, my eyes, which were now watering as the smoke assaulted them, searched the passenger seat and the back seat.

They found nobody. I wanted to be relieved, but the anxious feeling in my gut persisted. I pushed away from the car, nearly col iding with my mom as she reached my side.

“Is he alright?” she asked, her voice muffled under her hand. I tried to open my mouth to respond, but by this point the smoke was getting to my lungs; I could hardly breathe, much less speak, so instead I grabbed my mom’s arm and pulled her away from the car and the thick shroud of smoke covering it. It took nearly a full minute of coughing and sputtering to clear my throat before I could speak.

“He’s not in there,” I final y managed to wheeze.

“What?” my mother asked.

I shrugged.

“Well he can’t have gone far,” she said, eying the wreckage as she pulled her cel phone out of her back pocket. “You search that way, I’ll cal 911 and check over here. Try not to breathe in too much smoke if you can help it.”

I nodded and raced off in the direction she’d pointed to.

Before I had even begun to look, something told me that I wasn’t going to find anything. I combed the area anyway, even going so far into the distance that I could barely make out the car amidst the haze of smoke surrounding it. Then I doubled back and searched along the ditch, and up to the edge of the woods that ran along the road. I was looking for a body—preferably a live one. By the third time I’d circled the area I would’ve settled for a sign that a body had even been there.

I had no such luck.

I was just about to find my momr and inform her of my empty search when something on the ground— or somethings, rather—caught my attention. In the gravel dust of the road’s shoulder were several paw prints, and whatever made them must have been huge. The tracks led away from the wreck, and I turned and followed them with my eyes. They ended a few feet away, but I could see faint indentions in the grass that probably marked more. I hesitated for a moment, glancing back over my shoulder at my mom.

I’d almost made up my mind to follow the tracks when the wail of sirens caught my attention. A fire truck hurtled around the curve a few seconds later, followed by an ambulance. The vehicles had barely slowed to a stop before firefighters and EMT started pouring out of them.

“Dr. Layton!” I heard one of the EMT cal . My mom ran to meet them, passing several fully suited firefighters as they ran towards the smoking car. For a few minutes everything was chaotic as the newly arrived emergency workers doubled our search efforts. EMTs scoured the surrounding area and some of the firefighters used a jack to lift and search under the car, while others tore off the hood and extinguished the smoking flames underneath it.

After a few minutes though, they all seemed to conclude that maybe there was nobody to rescue after all . Everything slowed down, and everyone stood around talking and occasional y gesturing toward the wreckage. I continued to watch the firefighters hosing down the car, until out of the corner of my eye I noticed two of them walking by me.

“This is strange though,” said one of the firefighters as he removed his helmet to reveal a full head of blonde hair.

“What’s strange?” I asked automatically .

The two slowed to a stop and exchanged glances. Then the blonde one gestured back toward the car.

“This wreck—we were just talking about how it’s almost “This wreck—we were just talking about how it’s almost identical to one we responded to a few weeks ago.”

I looked at him curiously.

“That one…” he continued in a dramatic voice—obviously glad to have an audience, “…it was another one car wreck, ‘cept that time it was a Jeep Wrangler. But the entire hood and the driver’s side door was dented in, just like this ‘in.

We never did find any victims of that wreck either, did we Gene?”

The fireman standing next to him shook his head. “Nope.

We didn’t find the cause of that wreck, either,” said Gene as he picked at a loose thread on his jacket. “I think the highway patrolman wrote it off by sayin’ that it must have been some kind of animal or somethin’,” he added with a snort. “But I don’t know of any animal that could cause that much damage and walk away from it—especial y seein’ as how there wasn’t even any blood.”

“A bear, maybe?” suggested the blonde fireman.

“Nah—doubt it,” said Gene in a monotone voice. “There aren’t many bears left around these parts. And even a bear probably wouldn’t have been big enough to cause that much damage and walk away without a scratch. Don’t you remember how that Jeep looked? It wasn’t even worth saving for scrap metal.”

“Could it have been a wolf?” I asked, more to myself than them.

“There are even fewer wolves than there are bears around,”

my mom, who had just walked up, interjected quietly before either of the firemen could answer.

The blonde fireman nodded in agreement with her. “I don’t know that I’ve ever even seen a wolf in the wilds ‘round here,” he said.

“…And even if there were, I’ve never heard a one big enough to do that,” added Gene with a nod toward the black Toyota.

“Maybe not,” I said. But just because you haven’t heard of it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.