Bluedawn (A Watermagic Novel, #2) (5 page)

There was a “missing” sign on the front door
of the market with a picture of the three teenage boys who had been
reported for their recent disappearance. My heart ached at the
thought of how devastated their families must have been, not
knowing where their kids were.

I stepped inside, trying to shake off the
thoughts. A heavy woman with silver teeth greeted me as she inhaled
her cigarette smoke.

“Curfew is ten o’clock cause of the dead
boys,” she mumbled like she had been saying it all night to every
customer who entered.

I nodded, uncomfortably. “I thought they were
lost.”

“A few hours ago, they found the bodies up
coast by some coves torn to shreds.”

My eyes widened. “How did they die?”

“They police don’t know yet, but they were
clawed and chewed apart. Maybe wild animals, but the bite marks
look like they were made by humans.”

“Horrible.” I shook my head as my stomach
rolled in nausea.

I felt uncomfortable standing there talking
to the woman and thinking about it with her, so I excused myself
and looked around the small store. Rushing, I grabbed a pack of
spearmint gum from an isle shelf and then a slab of meat from the
refrigerator for the wolf.

“Minty fresh.” the woman smiled showing all
her silver teeth again as she took my money.

I didn’t know how to respond to her sudden
peculiar enthusiasm, so I just nodded politely.

“Here you go. On the house,” she mumbled as
she handed me a carton of something. “It’s free live worms. Great
for fishing.”

“That’s okay,” I said pushing the carton back
at her. “I don’t fish.”

She frowned. “No, take it—you can give it to
your friends.”

I could tell she wasn’t going to take no for
an answer, so I took the carton and nodded awkwardly. I just wanted
to leave.

“Thanks.” I waved as I left, the door
creaking as I opened it.

“Hey, wait,” she coughed. “You forgot your
change.”

I looked back at the woman and stumbled
forward into the dark haired boy entering the store. My feet
slipped out from under me and I fell on him.

“Oh, no—I’m sorry,” I apologized, swallowing
hard. This wasn’t how I wanted to thank him.

He chuckled lightly and lifted me back up to
upright position. When I saw him again, I noticed he was even cuter
than I remembered—damn cute. That just made me feel all the more
inadequate and flustered.

“What the hell?” His eyes widened in
horror.

I peeled my gaze away from his face and saw
that I had dumped all the worms on him in my fall. They were
wiggling on his t-shirt, in his shorts pockets, and on his
feet.

He started jumping around, slapping them off
in a panic like he was covered in something as terrifying as
snakes. In his frenzy, he even pulled off his shorts and shirt and
threw his flip-flops in the air. He was dancing around in just his
underwear.

As bad as I felt, I couldn’t help but laugh.
It was just way too funny seeing a guy like him freaking out. Even
the checker was snorting in between her smoke filled wheezes.

When he finally settled down, I wasn’t as
embarrassed to look at him in his perfect, thin, muscular body. His
dark hair was tousled and his cheeks flushed lightly. But then he
looked at me and his mouth lifted into a heart racing crooked
grin.

Why was he gazing at me like that? OMG! He
was just way too… too…too… oh, I don’t know—confusing to look at me
that way. And he was practically naked.

“Aren’t you going to get dressed?” I managed
to say, trying to keep myself from passing out from the way his
presence made me feel like running away. I tried to steady myself.
I hadn’t thanked him for saving me yet.

“Hell, no,” he responded dramatically. “I’m
not putting those slugs on my body.”

“Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly. My
heart was pounding and I kept looking at the door.

“That’s okay. I like being naked.” There was
a facetious gleam in his familiar green eyes. “What were you doing
with those things anyway?” He lifted an eyebrow as he studied me
suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes. “They’re freebees for
buying gum.” I motioned over at the checker who was arranging the
worm cartons in the refrigerator behind her.

He laughed louder than I expected. “There’s a
bonfire on the beach. Some of my friends are there. You want to
go?”

“With you?” I asked, surprised by the
invitation. Usually, movie stars or models didn’t ask me out,
especially the types that beat up their friends and lurked in the
woods.

“Yeah, with me. Who else were you thinking
of?” He sort of danced to the side.

“I don’t drink,” I said thinking of my
parents and how they forbid me to see him.

“Well then, you can’t come.” He chuckled
again.

I stood there feeling awkward. I wanted to
just thank him and leave, but somehow I couldn’t pull myself away
now.

“Come on. I’ll buy you something better.” He
gazed at me for a second through his thick dark lashes.

My pulse did a little jig through my veins. I
couldn’t help but wonder what he had in mind, so I walked with him
and his nearly naked body toward the isles. In a second I would
just thank him and leave.

He grabbed a red shopping basket and carried
it with him as he limped lightly.

The checker got up wobbling as she walked and
swept up the worms and the guy’s clothes. I couldn’t even focus on
her because I was so fixated on boy wonder.

“What’s your name?” he asked in his sort of
low velvety voice that seemed natural to him.

I cleared my throat nervously. “Hailey Maize.
What’s yours?”

I noticed he had a silver skull ring on his
finger and now he was running it along the soda bottles in the
glass fridge. The sounds were almost musical. I didn’t want to
listen.

What the hell was wrong with me? I had never
been this riled by any boy in my life. And it wasn’t because he was
naked. There was just something about him that caught me in a way I
didn’t even understand.

He picked up a bottle of something clear and
bubbly. “Dylan Masters.”

“What?” His scent had caught my attention. It
was like an ocean breeze with a hint of pine.

“That’s my name. Earth to Hailey.” He took a
few more bottles and placed them in the basket.

“Are you going to wear that to the beach?” I
asked, trying to suppress a smile.

“I think I might take them off just for the
hell of it.” His expression was unreadable.

“Funny guy.”

“You think I’m kidding.” His voice lifted in
amusement.

“I’m not sure.”

I glanced at the door as I walked with him to
the open refrigerators. He put several packages of hotdogs in the
basket and stacked up the buns until it was overflowing.

“You’re a chocolate girl,” he murmured with a
wry smile as we stepped down the candy isle. He picked out the most
expensive chocolate in the shape of a heart.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he meant
anything by the romantic connotations. But whatever was going
through his mind agitated my senses whether I could figure him out
or not.

The checker was picking the worms out of the
dust pan and putting them in a new box when we walked up to the
counter.

Dylan picked up a sample bottle of something
and sprayed it on his lithe body, first on his neck, then his
chest, and finally on his stomach.

“What’s that?” I asked wondering when he was
going to stop. My imagination was running wild as I watched him.
The scent reminded me of a hot day in the forest when the pine
needles are most pungent.

“It’s for keeping mosquitos off. Want some?”
He held the bottle up to me, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Natural
stuff.”

“No,” I laughed backing away. Just say thank
you and leave—I kept thinking to myself. Don’t mention how he saved
you years back. But I couldn’t help but wonder if his limp was a
result of rescuing me.

“Works great. Sometimes I bathe in it.” The
way he suppressed a smile, I got the feeling he was messing with
me.

“Put those things away, woman,” he said
teasingly to the store clerk.

To my surprise, she kind of giggled, in a
coughing sort of way and left her chore to ring up Dylan’s
items.

“You want your clothes back?” the lady asked.
Her thin lips were pursed as she looked at him. I could tell he
excited her.

“Wash them for me and I’ll pick them up in
the morning.” He winked.

“Will do.” Her reply seemed overly
pleasing.

That interaction perplexed me. We weren’t at
a laundry mat. As if! But I continued with him toward the exit.
Before the door slammed behind us, I looked back and saw the lady
holding Dylan’s t-shirt up to her face while she deeply inhaled his
scent. I really couldn’t blame her, but it was funny.

Suppressing a smile, I turned on my
flashlight while he slung the bag of groceries over his
shoulder.

“Where’s your flashlight?” I asked him.

“Didn’t bring one.” His boyish expression
seemed distant, like he was thinking about something. I wondered if
he remembered me from three years ago as well.

I scoffed. “I can’t believe you walked to the
market in complete darkness.”

His eyes bored into me now. “I like a
challenge.”

My mind whirled as he gazed at me like that.
“Uh, what?” I didn’t even hear what he said. Just looking at him
hurt.

The way he lifted his chin now gave me the
feeling that he was amused. “And it wasn’t completely dark.
Lanterns were lit at some of the campsites and that man in the
hammock with the wolf had a lit cigarette.”

“And now there’s the stars,” I mumbled,
trying to steady myself as I looked up at the vast sky.

He nodded though I got the feeling he was
mocking me. “And there are the stars…” At that, he looked up too,
glancing down at me from the corner of his eye. A mischievous grin
formed on his face. “But when I walked to the market, they were
mostly covered with clouds.”

“They’re beautiful now.” I gulped, hoping he
wouldn’t notice how he affected me.

“Sure are,” he sighed. “Looks like a million
diamonds sparkling on a black velvet cloth.”

I couldn’t fully appreciate the breathtaking
view while my heart was pumping the blood so fast to my head.

“Turn off your flashlight,” he said in that
voice that sort of whispered in his throat.

I looked at him perplexed, trying to act
normal. Why the hell would I want to do that?”

“So you can experience what I did.”

“I just wanted to thank you for saving me in
the woods the other night.”

“That was you?” His eyes widened in
shock.

My eyebrows furrowed together. “Didn’t you
know?”

He laughed. “Yeah, I knew.” He glanced down
at my ankle. “Looks better.”

“Okay, so I’m going to go now,” I said
suddenly as I rushed away.

“Wait,” he called out jogging after me.

But then, in the dark, someone stepped out of
the bushes and grabbed onto my arm. It wasn’t Dylan.

CHAPTER FIVE

To die will be an awfully
big adventure.
–J.M.
Barrie, 
Peter Pan

I let out a scream.

A man pulled me around. I couldn’t see his
face clearly. “You’re parents said to stay in the motorhome,” he
said roughly.

“How do you know?” I tried to keep my voice
from shaking.

“They told me to keep an eye on you.” His
face was long and distorted in the shadows. It was so close to mine
that I could feel the wetness of his breath. I thought of the dead
boys and the human bite marks in their flesh.

He pulled me forward before I had a chance to
respond and was dragging me by the arm through the darkness.
Everything was happening so quickly.

“You better mind, girl,” the man growled
under his breath.

“Let me go.” I struggled to get away.

But he grabbed me tighter and wouldn’t let
up.

I started to whimper.

“Hey, Ranger Mike.” Dylan jogged up to the
man and put his hand on his shoulder. “I’ll walk Hailey back to her
campsite for her parents.”

“Who’s there?” Ranger Mike swung around
suddenly and stopped in the darkness.

“It’s me, Dylan.”

“Oh, hello there, son.”

“How was your doctor’s appointment?” Dylan
asked him as I stood there panting.

“Said I have a brain tumor.” His head dropped
into his hands.

“I’m sorry, man.” Dylan shook his head. “What
a shame.”

The man nodded. “You take her back and make
sure she stays in.”

“Will do,” Dylan agreed.

The park ranger turned around and walked away
toward his office.

“Come on,” Dylan whispered.

I tried to calm my thoughts. The whole thing
frightened me so much that my skin felt clammy. I walked beside
Dylan, not sure what to make of the entire event. “He scared the
hell out of me,” I finally whispered.

“I wanted to bash his head in,” Dylan
retorted. “You watch out for that dude. He’s not normal.”

“Maybe it’s the brain tumor making him
crazy.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t trust him and I
don’t like how he treated you.”

“Thanks for stepping in again,” I mumbled as
I wondered why he cared.

“Turn off your flashlight,” he said for the
second time. His voice rang of confidence.

“Why?”

“I want to show you what it is like to walk
in the dark,” he whispered. “But now, there’s an added benefit. In
the dark, Ranger Mike won’t know that I’m taking you with me.”

Butterflies fluttered uncontrollably in my
stomach. Now I was sure I wanted to go. I wasn’t afraid of Dylan
anymore, even though maybe I should have been. I was afraid of
Ranger Mike. I didn’t want to be alone in the motorhome with that
man knowing my parents were out.

“All right,” I replied, feeling more curious
about him than the darkness. My fingers fumbled with the flashlight
for a second before I got it off.