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CHAPTER 7
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2023-01-07 17:30:17Related chapters
Marked CHAPTER 8
“I’m not sure if it was him,” Sam said. “There were 4 people with his name. Two of them were private and had no picture. I sent them both a message.”“And?”Sam shook his head.“I haven’t heard anything back.”“Dad would not be on Facebook.”“You don’t know that,” he answered, once again defensive.I sighed and walked over to my bed and lay down. I stared up at the yellowing ceiling, paint peeling, and wondered how we all had reached this point. There were towns they’d been happy in, even times when their mom seemed almost happy. Like when she was dating that guy. Happy enough, at least, to leave me alone.There were towns, like the last one, where Sam and I both made a few good friends, where it seemed like they might actually stay—at least long enough to graduate in one place. And then it all seemed to turn so fast. Packing again. Saying goodbyes. Was it too much to ask for a normal childhood?“I could move back to Oakville,” Sam said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. The
Last Updated : 2023-01-07Marked CHAPTER 9
I ran. The bullies were back, and they were chasing me down the alleyway. A dead end lay before me, a massive wall, but I ran anyway, right towards it. As I ran, I picked up speed, impossible speed, and the buildings flew by in a blur. I could feel the wind rushing through my hair.As I got closer, I leapt, and in a single bound I was at the top of the wall, thirty feet high. One more leap, and I flew through the air again, thirty feet, twenty, landing on the concrete without losing a stride, still running, running. I felt powerful, invincible. My speed increased even more, and I felt like I could fly.I looked down and before my eyes the concrete changed to grass—tall, swaying, green grass. I ran through a prairie, the sun shining, and I recognized it as the home of my early childhood.In the distance, I could sense that my father stood on the horizon. As I ran, I felt I was getting closer to him. I saw him coming into focus. He stood with a large smile, and arms spread wide.I ac
Last Updated : 2023-01-07Marked CHAPTER 10
I glanced at my watch: 8:40. I was 25 minutes late to class.I took a deep breath and turned the metal knob.I entered, and the entire class stopped and looked up at me. Including the teacher.Silence.“Ms….” the teacher, forgetting my name, walked to her desk and picked up a piece of paper, scanning it, “….Paine. The new girl. You are 25 minutes late.”A stern, older woman, the teacher glared down at me.“What do you have to say for yourself?”I hesitated.“Sorry?”“That’s not good enough. It may be acceptable to be late to class wherever you are from, but it’s certainly not acceptable here.”“Unacceptable,” I said, and immediately regretted it.An awkward silence covered the room.“Excuse me?” the teacher asked, slowly.“You said ‘not acceptable.’ You meant ‘unacceptable.’”“OH—SHIT!” exclaimed a noisy boy from the back of the room, and the entire class erupted into laughter.The teacher’s face turned bright red.“You little brat. Report to the Principal’s office rig
Last Updated : 2023-01-07Marked CHAPTER 11
It wasn’t him.I sat there, waiting for what felt like forever.But he never came.The bell rang, and the cafeteria emptied out. Still, I sat there waiting.Maybe he didn’t care after all?*My heart broke as the final bell of the school day rang, and I stood before my assigned locker. I looked down at the combination printed on the piece of paper in my hand, turned the knob and pulled.The inside door was lined with graffiti. Otherwise, it was completely bare. Depressing. I thought of all my other schools, of how I would rush to find my locker, to open it, to memorize the combination, and to line the door with pictures of boys from magazines. It was my way of making myself at home.But somewhere along the line, a few schools ago, I stopped trying.I closed the door with a bang.“Caitlin?”I jumped. Standing there, a foot away, was Jonah.He wore large sunglasses. I could see that the skin beneath them was swollen.I was shocked to see him standing there. And thrille
Last Updated : 2023-01-07Marked CHAPTER 12
“No,” I lied. “I don’t really know anyone here, remember?”He paused.“I got jumped,” he said. “Walking home from school.”“I’m so sorry,” I said again. I sounded like an idiot, repeating the same stupid phrase, but I didn’t want to say anything that would give too much away.“Yeah, my dad’s pretty pissed,” he continued. “They got my viola.”“That sucks,” I said. “Will he get you a new one?”Jonah shook his head slowly. “He said no. He can’t afford it. And that I should have been more careful with it.”Concern crossed my face. “But I thought you said that was your ticket out?”He shrugged.“What will you do?” I asked.“I don’t know.”“Maybe the cops will find it,” I said. I remembered, of course, that it was broken, but I thought that by saying this, it would help prove to him that I didn’t know.He looked me over carefully, as if trying to judge if I was lying.Finally, he said, “They smashed it.” He paused. “Some people just feel the need to destroy other peoples’ stuff,
Last Updated : 2023-01-07Marked CHAPTER 13
I was on cloud nine as I walked home from school, clutching my journal. I hadn’t been this happy in I didn’t know when. Jonah’s words replayed in my head.“There’s this concert tonight. At Carnegie Hall. I’ve got two free tickets. They’re the worst seats in the house, but the vocalist is supposed to be amazing.”“Are you asking me out?” I’d said, smiling.He’d smiled back.“If you don’t mind going with this lump of bruises,” he’d said, smiling back. “After all, it is Friday night.”I practically skipped home, unable to contain my excitement. I didn’t know anything about classical music—I’d never even really listened to it before—but I didn’t care. I’d go anywhere with him.Carnegie Hall. He said the dress was fancy. What would I wear? I checked my watch. I wouldn’t have much time to change if I was going to meet him at that café before the concert. I doubled my pace.Before I knew it, I was home, and even the dreariness of my building didn’t bring me down. I bounded up the five
Last Updated : 2023-01-07Marked CHAPTER 14
I could see the venom in her black eyes. I’d never seen my mom in this deep of a rage. Her eyes held murder.“Why did you have to chase away the one thing that was good in my life!?” my mom yelled.This time my mom charged me with two hands held out in front and went right for my throat. Before I could react, I was being choked. Hard.I fought for breath. But my mom’s grip was iron. It was truly meant to kill.The rage flooded me, and this time I couldn’t stop it. I could feel the familiar, prickly heat, starting at my toes, and working its way up through my arms and shoulders. I let it envelop me. As it did, the muscles in my neck bulged. Without doing a thing, my mom’s grip loosened.My mom must have seen the transformation begin, because she suddenly looked afraid. I threw my head back and roared. I had transformed into a thing of fear.My mom dropped her grip, and took a step back and stared, mouth open.I reached up with one hand and shoved her, and she went flying backward
Last Updated : 2023-01-07Marked CHAPTER 15
Please be there, Jonah. Please don’t go. Please.I exited at Columbus Circle and walked at a brisk pace. I checked my watch again. I was 20 minutes late. I swallowed.As I walked, just a few blocks away, I suddenly felt a pang in my stomach. I stopped, taken aback by the intense pain.I bent over, clutching my stomach, unable to move. I’d never experienced anything like this before. I struggled to catch my breath.People passed quickly by on either side, but no one stopped to check if I was OK.After about a minute, I finally, slowly, stood back up. The pain began to subside.I began walking again, heading in the direction of the café. But I now felt completely disoriented. And something else….Hunger. It wasn’t a normal hunger, but a deep, unquenchable thirst. As a woman walked past me, walking her dog, I noticed myself turning and staring at the animal. I found myself craning my neck and watching the animal as it walked past, and staring at its neck.To my surprise, I could see
Last Updated : 2023-01-07
Latest chapter
Marked CHAPTER 109
“NO!” sobbed Caleb, as he turned to me, rushing to my side.Caleb was so distracted, he did not see Sergei, standing over us, holding the bloody sword, pleased at his work, grinning an evil grin.“You killed me before my time,” he snarled down at me. “Now I have returned the favor.”Sergei suddenly raced off, darting down the aisle of the church.Kyle scurried to his feet and raced after him, and out the front door.As they ran past her, Samantha regained consciousness, and in one quick motion, she grabbed a hold of the unconscious Sam, hoisted him over her shoulder, and bounded off after them.The church was now empty, save for me and Caleb. And Rose, lying off to the side, whimpering, bleeding.“Caitlin!” Caleb cried, as he held my shoulders. He leaned over me, caressing my face, and I could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks.He had been too shocked by seeing me hurt to even think of the sword. He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that the others had left the bu
Marked CHAPTER 108
{SAMANTHA’S POV}Samantha screeched the BMW to a halt right front of the King’s Chapel. Abandoning the car in the middle of the road, she jumped out. Sam, following her, jumped out the other side.Horns blared.“Hey lady, you can’t park there!” yelled a cop, approaching her.Samantha reached up and brought her fist down on his nose, smashing it and causing him to drop to his knees, unconscious. Before he could hit the ground, she reached out and grabbed the gun from his holster.Sam stood there, gaping, in shock.“Holy shit—” he began to say.But before he could finish, she grabbed him in a chokehold and picked him up off the ground.Before he knew what was happening, she had him in the air, carrying him up the steps and through the door of the King’s Chapel.“Samantha!” he tried to yell. “What are you—”Dragging Sam, she kicked open the church door with one foot and raced inside.“DON’T MOVE!” Samantha shrieked.Samantha stood there, in the aisle of the King’s Chapel, ho
Marked CHAPTER 107
As we entered the empty church, Caleb quickly shut the massive door behind us. It slammed with a bang, reverberating. The church was closed and the door had been locked, but he had broken it with his sheer strength. Now we had the place to ourselves.As we walked into the beautiful, small chapel, the sunset light poured in through its stained-glass windows, and I felt immediately at peace. It was a cozy and elegant place, its pews segmented into family boxes and all lined with red velvet. Perfectly preserved. I felt as if I’d stepped into another century. Caleb walked up beside me, and the two of us slowly looked around. A stillness hung in the air.“It’s here,” he said. “I can feel it,” he said.And for the first time, I could feel it, too.I noticed that I was beginning to sense things more strongly, and I could sense the sword’s presence here. It electrified me. I didn’t know what excited me more: that the sword was here, or that I could sense it on my own.I set Rose down be
Marked CHAPTER 106
As Caleb and I left the Meeting House, turning onto School Street, the King’s Chapel Burying Ground came into view. It was only two short blocks away, and a direct, straight walk.The fourth tip of the cross, I thought. It all makes perfect sense.As we walked, I marveled at the fact that we had walked, this entire time, in the shape of a cross, as if they had been led by some invisible hand.I felt my heart beating faster. I was nervous to finally meet my father, if he was alive. And nervous to see his grave, if he should be dead. I wasn’t sure how I would react either way. But I was also excited, relieved to at last know exactly who he was, where I came from. I was excited to know what my lineage was, and what my destiny would be.I was also nervous that this would mean the end between me and Caleb. What if we really found the sword? What would he do then? Would he go and wage his war? Save his coven? And where would that leave me?The two of us held hands as they walked toward
Marked CHAPTER 105
{SAMANTHA’S POV}Samantha raced the BMW on the outskirts of Boston, Sam in the passenger seat beside her, heading along the highway towards Salem. She was increasingly annoyed at the growing difficulty in finding his dad. She’d been sure, when she’d seen those Facebook messages, when Sam had told her with such excitement that he’d been in touch with him, that this would be easy. She would just take him to his dad’s house, and from there it would be a direct path to the sword.But things had gotten complicated. She hadn’t expected to encounter that creep, and most of all, hadn’t expected to develop any feelings for Sam. It was complicating things. Making her less sharp. Her original plan had been so simple: find his dad, kill them both, and return with the sword. Now she wasn’t sure she wanted to kill Sam at all. Especially as she looked over at him, and saw that fresh scar on his cheek, the reminder of how he’d tried to save her.More than anything, she was mad at herself for that
Marked CHAPTER 104
We walked quickly down Washington Street, and within moments we stood outside the Meeting House Church. It was another perfectly restored, historic church.We entered, and were stopped by an attendant.“I’m afraid we just closed,” she said. “This is a working museum. It’s five o’clock,” she said. “But feel free to come back tomorrow.”Caleb turned to me, and I could feel what he was thinking. He wanted me to test out my mind power on this woman.I stared at her, locking eyes, and sent a mental suggestion. She would let them in. She would make an exception for them.The woman suddenly stared back at me. She blinked.Suddenly, she said, “You know what? You two seem like such a nice couple. I’ll make an exception for you. But don’t tell anyone,” she said with a wink.I turned to Caleb and smiled, and the two of us walked inside.The church was beautiful. It was another huge, open space, with massive windows in every direction, and filled with wooden pews, all empty. We had the pla
Marked CHAPTER 103
As Caleb and I left the park, turning down Court Street and heading into the heart of the historic district of Boston, the old Statehouse came into view. It was a large, brick building, perfectly preserved from the 1700s, with multiple historic windows and topped by a large, white cupola. It was stunning in its simplicity and beauty.As we reached its base, we walked around the structure, looking for the site of the Boston massacre. Finally, as we turned the corner, we saw it.We both stopped in our tracks.It was a ring. A perfect circle.The spot marking the Boston massacre was small, hardly bigger than a manhole cover. We came close and examined it.It held no special markings. It was just a humble circle, made up of small tile, embedded in the ground at the base of the Old State House.“It makes sense,” Caleb said. “We are definitely on the right trail.”“Why?”“That balcony, above it,” he said, gesturing. “That’s where the Declaration of Independence was first read.”I l
Marked CHAPTER 102
Caleb and I stood in Boston Common, at the top of a small hill, looking out, surveying the park. He held a map of the Freedom Trail which he’d just bought in a store, and he ran his finger along it again and again. I stood beside him, holding out both halves of the ancient scroll.“Read it again,” he said.I squinted to make out the words. I read:The Four Horsemen travel a trail to freedom.They leave common ground,Enter a ring of blood,Meet at the house,And find the ones they lovedBeside the fourth tip of the cross.“A trail to freedom,” Caleb repeated aloud, concentrating. “It must be a reference to the freedom trail. It would make perfect sense. Its right in the middle, right between Salem and Martha’s Vineyard. We’re in the center.“And the ‘common ground’ reference…that must be Boston Common, where we are right now. It would also make sense. In the 1600s, where we’re standing, they hung the witches. It is a very important spot, especially for the vampire race.
Marked CHAPTER 101
{SAM’S POV}Sam was still reeling.That scene inside the mobile home had been so intense, he still couldn’t process it. That creep. The knife. The struggle. His cheek. And then Samantha. Killing him like that. It was unbelievable. Who was she?As he sat in the roadside diner, across from her in a booth, he looked her over. He was more attracted to her than ever—but also wary now. Cautious. She looked totally relaxed, sipping on her vanilla milkshake, and he couldn’t understand. Was this the same chick? Here she was, this totally cool and hot, awesome chick, who he loved hanging out with—and yet she had also been that crazy, psycho girl that totally killed that creep without even blinking an eye. Had she really killed him?It had all gone down so quickly, and the place was so dark, he couldn’t even really tell what had happened, exactly. But he remembered the noise, that sickening crack when she twisted his neck. And he remembered seeing the guy hit the ground, totally limp. The d
