Frostbitten: The Complete Series (58 page)

“What?” Tanner said.

“Why are you in our house?” the girl asked.

“I—um—Our car was stuck. Your mommy let us stay the night.”

“She did?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you in daddy’ pyjamas?” the girl asked.

“Your mom let us borrow them. Is that okay?”

“I’m Zelda. What’s your name?” the girl said.

“Tanner,” Tanner replied.

“What are you looking at?” Zelda asked.

Tanner looked back at the pictures on the wall. “Your pictures. They’re very nice pictures.”

“I like pictures,” Zelda said.

Tanner wiped his eyes and tried his best to stand up straight and composed. “Where I grew up, we didn’t have pictures.”

“Why not?” Zelda asked.

“We just didn’t. No one ever took any,” Tanner said.

“You can have one of our pictures,” Zelda said. “We have lots.”

Tanner smiled for the first time in weeks.

“Zelda,” Paige said, walking down the hallway towards her daughter. “Why are you out of bed?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Where’s daddy?” Zelda asked.

Paige looked at Tanner. “I’m sorry. She usually sleeps like a rock.” Paige looked over at her daughter. “Daddy will be home soon. He’s stuck at work. Carl here is just staying the night,” she said.

“Who’s Carl?” Zelda said.

Tanner’s heart dropped into his gut—he’d unwittingly given away his true identity.

“This is Carl. The nice boy you were just talking to.”

“That’s not Carl! That’s Tanner. Tanner doesn’t have any pictures, mommy. Can he have one of ours?”

Paige smiled. “No pictures? Everyone has pictures.” She looked up at Tanner.

Tanner’s eyes were wide.

“I’m sorry—that picture is so embarrassing,” Paige said, referring to the picture of her husband with the dog. “Rick—my husband insists on having it on the wall. He loves dogs. He’s in school, trying to become a vet, believe it or not. Almost fifty years old, and he’s starting his second year of university.”

Tanner stood silently.

“Come on, sweetie—Let’s get you back to bed,” Paige said, taking her daughter by the hand and leading her up the stairs, back to bed. “Say good night.”

“Good night, Tanner,” the innocent little Zelda said.

Tanner’s paranoia was back with a vengeance. Like a feral cat, he was jumping at every creak and groan in the house. Hands shaking, he paced up and down the hallway, trying desperately to collect his rushing thoughts. He found himself in a bathroom, looking at a monster in the mirror. He started to rifle through the medicine cabinet—maybe there was Ativan or something to calm down his firing nerves.

Next to the late-gas clerk’s shaving kit was a fresh pack of razors. Tanner picked the box up and stared at it. In minutes, he could be free from the nervous lump in his throat and the nauseous guilt in his stomach. With two quick slashes, this whole nightmare could be over.

His hand shook violently—he was seriously considering suicide. With his trembling fingers, he peeled the plastic cover from the package, he opened the box, and he let the razors slip out onto the edge of the bathroom sink. He stared down at them for a moment, and then picked one up. He brought it to his wrist.

“What are you doing?”

Standing in the doorway was Paige.

Tanner looked up at Paige with a blade in his hand. “I—I was going to shave. I didn’t—I didn’t want to use your husband’s—”

“Shave?” Paige smiled. “Shave your wrists?”

“I—I just—”

“Tanner—That’s your name, right?”

Tanner stopped trying to create an excuse. He went silent. What began as a snowball of a nightmare was now a boulder barrelling down a mountainside—with no sight of the mountain’s end.

“Whatever is eating you inside—whatever you’ve done that you think is so horrible—I promise you, it will pass,” Paige said. “Everyone has a rocky patch or two in their life.”

After a moment of silence, Tanner spoke. “I didn’t mean to do it,” Tanner said.

“What’s done is done. You can’t change that—running away from it won’t change anything.”

“You
really
don’t understand,” Tanner said.

“I understand—trust me, I understand,” Paige said. “Don’t worry. It will pass.”

Paige appeared far away, a tiny dot on an empty horizon, moving in super-slow motion.

“It’s hard,” Paige said. “But it gets better—once it does, it’s worth it.”

“I’m sorry,” Tanner muttered, holding back a waterfall of tears.

“No need to apologize. You’re going to be okay.”

“No—I—I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Tanner wanted to tell her what he’d done—he wanted to tell her about her husband.

“It’s okay,” Paige said. “Wash up and get some sleep. I’m making pancaked in the morning.” She smiled before turning and walking back to her bedroom for the night.

Tanner looked back at the razor in his hand. He put it back into its little box, and then he put the little box back into the medicine cabinet.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN
ONE SILENT MOUNTAIN NIGHT

Unlike his accomplice, Kane was able to sleep that night. Tanner tried hard, but his overwhelming guilt kept him awake. He stared up at the ceiling while his mind wore itself out, replaying the horrible murder over and over and over again. He couldn’t bare the thought of sleeping in a dead man’s clothes, in a dead man’s home, being served by a dead man’s wife.

Paige’s home was quieter than the Clarkson’s busy, noisy home—quieter than the rowdy juvenile detention center, and quieter than the frantic hospital where he had spent the first few years of his life. Paige’s home was quieter than Tanner knew was possible—quiet enough that his tormenting memories seemed louder than anything possible. Each time his mind replayed that fatal blast of the shotgun, Tanner jolted as if it was actually going off in that little guest room.

Bang!

It was as if his mind was tormenting him intentionally—punishing him for his horrible decision.

Bang!

The memory played itself back in super slow-motion—in extraordinary detail. No single gruesome detail was left out of the playback.

Bang!

His name was Rick. He loved dogs. He was going to school to become a vet—the gas station job was probably a second job that he worked to provide for his family while paying his way through school. He was an incredible provider, his home was beautiful, and his family was happier than any person he had ever met.

Rick loved his daughter.

Smash!

Tanner hesitated a moment—the faint sound of breaking glass was strangely realistic—not a fragment of his memory at all. It came from upstairs. Kane was still fast asleep.

Thud!

Tanner brought himself up to his feet. He stood up straight and looked up at the ceiling of the guest room—listening carefully. “Kane?” Tanner said.

Kane rolled over in the bed. “What?” Kane asked, still half asleep.

“Did you hear that?” Tanner asked.

“Hear what?”

Tanner stood still and listened carefully for a moment. It was silent.

“Hear what, Tanner?” Kane asked.

“Shh,” Tanner said swiftly.

There was a light knocking sound—like cautious footsteps navigating the upstairs of the home.

“Do you hear that?” Tanner asked again.

“It’s nothing, Tanner. Go back to bed. Try and get some sleep.”

Tanner ignored his friend. He walked to the door, opened it up, and walked out of the bedroom.

“Tanner!” Kane said sharply, sitting up in the bed.

Careful to make as little noise as humanly possible, Tanner walked down the hallway towards the stairs. One by one, he climbed the steps, listening carefully for another sound. Midway down the hall of the top floor was an open door. Tanner carefully approached it.

Inside the open room was Zelda, peacefully asleep. A scrim on a soft purple night-light projected the silhouette of stars and planets throughout the room..

Tanner continued down the hallway.

Thud!

Something heavy hit the floor in room ahead. Tanner walked up to the closed door. He could feel a cold draft against his toes, seeping through the slit between the door and the carpet.

Tanner took a deep breath. He considered knocking, but something in hit soul stopped him. He reached forward with his hand and grabbed the cold metal handle. After a moment of reluctance, he pushed the door open.

The bed sheets were pulled from the bed, the window was smashed, the wooden nightstand was shattered, and the curtains had been ripped off of the wall. The room was dark, only visible through patches of ambient moonlight, within which was Paige’s bright red blood.

On the floor of the room was a dark moving lump—the silhouette of a man, leaning over a still corpse.

Tanner froze.

“P—Paige?” Tanner said.

Suddenly, the silhouetted assailant looked up, revealing his glowing red eyes. As Tanner’s eyes adjusted to the room’s darkness, he could make out Paige’s face on the floor—lifeless in a pool of her own blood.

The mysterious man stood up and cautiously approached Tanner.

“What did you do?” Tanner asked.

“It feels so good—It feels so fucking good!” the man said, revealing a sneering set of blood-stained teeth. He was a younger boy—not much older than Tanner.

“You killed her,” Tanner said.

The mysterious young man began to laugh. “Boo-hoo,” he said, mocking the young boy.

Tanner stepped into the room and walked towards the murderer.

“What are you going to do, little kid?” the man asked as blood trickled down the cusp of his lip. Tanner could see two sharp fangs protruding from the man’s mouth.

He was a vampire.

Tanner released his best battle cry as he hurled his body towards the young vampire. Dodging the attack with ease, the vampire grabbed Tanner by the neck and lifted him off of the ground. He looked Tanner in the eyes and laughed.

“You couldn’t hurt me if you tried, you little shit.” The vampire laughed. “Do you know how powerful I am?” he said before violently throwing Tanner across the room, into the wall. Tanner screamed out loud as he landed in the pile of broken glass.

The vampire looked down at his arms with a smile. “I can get used to this,” he chuckled.

Tanner sprung to his feet and lunged at the vampire again. The vampire swiftly slammed Tanner with his clawed hand, sending him hurling back into the wall—back into the pile of broken glass.

Tanner screamed out again. A sharp cold pain stung his arm. It was broken. Blood oozed out a dozen different cuts made by the broken glass-ridden floor.

“You’re a feisty little kid,” the teen vamp said.

Kane emerged in the doorway and froze at the sight of the bloody massacre. “Tanner?” he called out.

The vampire turned swiftly towards Kane and showed his sneering teeth. “This house is full of easy prey,” he said as he walked towards Kane.

Kane stared at the vampire for a moment. His voice was familiar.

“Run, Kane!” Tanner yelled out.

“Kane?” the vampire said, stopping. “I know a Kane—”

“Who are you?” Kane asked.

“It’s your old friend, Kane! Don’t you remember me?” the mysterious teen said.

As the vampire stepped closer, Kane recognized the teen—It was Wallace Quick.

“Last time I saw you, you were on the news, being thrown into the back of a cop car,” Wallace said.

“Wallace,” Kane said. “Why did you kill her?”

“I don’t want to bore you with the details, but I’ve discovered the greatest drug in the world—and it just happens to be stuck inside of boring, meaningless people like that woman there.”

“She wasn’t meaningless,” Tanner said from across the room.

“What are you talking about?” Kane asked.

“I wasn’t alive until tonight. Now I’m more alive than ever before. I would let you in on my little secret, Kane, but I never liked you.” Wallace smirked, showing off his sparkly new fangs and red eyes.

“What are you?” Kane asked.

“I’m a vampire. You know—like in the movies? Except the movies don’t really do it justice. How good it feels; They don’t show you the part where every drop of blood is like snorting one-hundred lines of coke!”

Wallace quickly reached forward and grabbed Kane by the throat. He lifted him off of the ground and looked directly at the artery in his neck. Kane tried to pry Wallace’s fingers off his throat, but they wouldn’t budge. “I can smell your blood, Kaney Boy. It smells like shit—like the little shit you are and always were.”

“F—Fuck you,” Kane said as his face began to turn a dark red.

Tanner reached around and jammed the tips of his fingers into Wallace’s eyes. Wallace dropped Kane onto the floor and spun around, swatting Tanner violently, breaking one of his ribs and sending him flying back into the pile of broken glass. “You little shit!”

Kane had learned a thing or two when he was in juvenile hall. Most importantly: he learned to never enter a situation unprepared. Using the knife he sleuthed from Paige’s kitchen, he lunged forward, stabbing Wallace in the back.

Wallace swung around again to face Kane. He cried out loud in pain before reaching around and pulling the blade out from his back. He tossed it to the ground, and then started to laugh. “You always were an idiot, Kane! Don’t you get it? I’m invincible. In-fucking-vincible!”

“Ahh!” With a loud battle cry, Tanner plunged a table broken leg through Wallace’s back.

Wallace’s body tensed up and he released a high-pitched shriek of pain. With all of his force, Tanner pushed the stake as hard as he could, plunging it deeper into Wallace’s body, piercing his venomous heart.

Wallace began to flail as he screamed, trying desperately to fight away the consuming pain.

Then, his skin turned black and his muscles turned to stone. His throaty gargle ended, and he disintegrated.

Tanner looked up at Kane. They were both speechless, unable to process what had just happened.